The Rough Fist
by hangman1
Summary: Juken; the Hyuuga clan's prized fighting style. Designed to destroy or cripple the opponents chakra network with pinpoint accuracy. But what is this style fell into the grasp of a young boy. The Rougufu is born! Naruto x Harem
1. Prologue

**The Rough Fist**

**This is a response to Acepro Evolution's *Naruto Juken* challenge.**

**XXX**

What makes a warrior strong?

Is it a special trait, passed to them as a birthright? Is it a master-crafted weapon, which can split a single human hair? Or is it determination and will?

Many bare different opinions of such things.

As for Naruto Uzumaki, (Aged 5, Citizen of West slums, Konoha, Fire Country) he bears no opinions of such things. Why you may ask? Because he simply wants to be accepted.

To do that, he'd use anything he has at his disposal.

Of course, Naruto cannot become strong in an instant. Becoming strong requires years, if not decades of hard training…

Or simply watching a group of people from behind a bush…

XXX

The whiskered blond stared, transfixed at the graceful movement of what he was watching. Most things he'd seen simply involved fast, impossible to follow movement, combined with a few blows or hurling of weapons.

But this… This was something else entirely.

The boy, Naruto, had been exploring the woods, looking for a quiet spot to train. And that's where he'd seen it.

A group of four dark haired people, each wearing white robes with long sleeves, dripping over their arms. A yin-yang mark was imprinted on the back of the robes, showing them to be members of the prestigious 'Hyuuga' clan.

They were sparring, two versus two, a male and a female on each team. Each movement they made seemed so delicate, so light; it was as if they were gliding across the ground. The blows they exchanged didn't even seem strong, but with the way the opponent doubled over if they were hit, there must've been something powerful in it!

This delicate movement was known as Juken (Gentle Fist.) Commonly used by the Hyuuga, this fighting style was created to easily and quickly destroy or cripple the opponent's chakra network. If used skilfully, it could result in certain death.

But there is a catch. Everything has a catch. The Juken is useless, literally, USELESS, without the Byakugan (All Seeing White Eye). This legendary doujutsu is held only within the Clan, granting the ability not only to see chakra, but to have vision of 359 degrees.

But, as you may have guessed, how would a five year old know all this!? The answer to that question is simple; he doesn't.

He was so transfixed in watching the movements of the pale-eyed clan members; he forgot to look for a training spot. He simply fell to his knees, and stared, his eyes glassy with wonder.

Ever since he'd left the orphanage at four, the boy had vowed to become the Hokage- the strongest ninja in the village. Everywhere he walked, people would treat him with a bad attitude, often glaring and yelling at him, for no reason at all! And if he became strong… Then maybe they'd come to accept him!

He gasped breathlessly as one member began to attack, his hands moving at blinding speed, the other clan member unable to block, taking the multiple blows right on the chest. The man who had received the blows coughed, a stream of blood flowing from his mouth, before toppling to the ground, to weak to stand.

The attacker bowed respectfully, then sat down on the earthen carpet, cross-legged, his eyes closed. He had begun to meditate.

This sight fascinated the young blond. He began to creep closer, very gently. As he did so, a new sight became visible. A blue aura was surrounding the Hyuuga's hands. As the remaining fighters continued to exchange blows, the blue aura passed into the opponent's body, then was instantly replaced with a new aura, still surrounding the hands.

This was obviously chakra. Though five, his mind had begun to calculate, the sight of this beautiful and deadly style kick-starting the cogs in his mind. The way the seemingly light blows caused so much damage, the fact that even a slight combination of attacks had completely devastated that poor man who had been beaten by the now meditating Hyuuga. The attacks seemed to forcefully push chakra into the opponent's body, not only damaging the physical element, but causing the very pipeline points to burst open.

Naruto unconsciously licked his lips. The day was getting far hotter, and he was trapped in a bush, spying on the clan, but his mind was else-where. This style, though having so much potential, was so… Flawed.

They seemed to rely on the opponent being unable to defend successfully. If they were fighting a long or mid-range specialist, their abilities are utterly useless. Also, with the restricted amount of chakra being pumped into their fists, the damage dealt on the actual body was significantly weakened.

The blond forced himself to draw his eyes away from the breathtaking spar to glance at his own fist. He stared, almost longingly at the tanned flesh. Slowly, he began to push all his power into that one hand. Nothing happened.

He let out a defeated sigh. Of course nothing had happened; he hadn't even been to the academy yet, how the hell would he know how to use chakra?

He grunted, clenching his hand, and slamming it into the earth, his disappointment hovering over him like a dark cloud. But as his fist connected, a flare of pure red chakra erupted from his fist, and instead of leaving a small indent in the ground like he would usually do, a small hole had appeared, resembling that of a rabbit-hole.

Naruto let his jaw drop. Then he smiled.

The legend of Rougufu was born on that day…

**XXX**

**Short first chapter, but I figured it was just about enough for an intro. Remember to review!**

**Credit: Acepro Evolution for the Naruto Juken Challenge.**


	2. Sorrow

**Sorrow**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or technically this story; rights go to Acepro Evolution. Kind of.**

**XXX**

"You know… It is rude to spy on people."

The blond froze. He was too busy surveying the small hole he'd created, to notice that the Hyuuga clan members had stopped sparring, and one had come over to him.

It was a male, aged around mid-twenties, with raven black hair tied up in a pony-tail, reaching down to his shoulder-blades. His skin, like all members of the Hyuuga clan, was porcelain pale, like a doll, as if the slightest touch could cause it to crack.

But the most amazing feature of all was the eyes. The pale-lavender eyes, shining like the moon, showing now signs of a pupil. It was like looking into a tiny mirror.

"I… I'm sorry." muttered Naruto.

The man gave him a small smile. "It's alright, kid. You don't really need to apologise." He laughed, merrily. "I'm Tsukimi Hyuuga." He blushed angrily. "Kind of a gender fault on my parent's part."

At this small episode of humour, the boy giggled, childishly (Well, he is a child, what would you expect?)

Suddenly, an idea sprung into Naruto's head. This man was the one who had begun to meditate after beating his opponent. He was strong, no doubt about it!

"I-I'm Naruto Uzumaki, sir!"

He raised a coal-black eyebrow. "Well, it was nice meeting you Naruto." He gave the boy a small bow, and then turned round, preparing to leave.

"PLEASE TRAIN ME!"

With those three words, the Hyuuga froze. Slowly, he turned, his pale-eyes staring directly at the blond, who was bowing, his mouth practically kissing the ground.

"T-that style you were using!" cried Naruto, his nerves getting to him. "I-I find it amazing! P-Please teach me!"

The man knelt down, and then flicked the jinchuriki on the forehead, causing his balance to fall, his bow ending in a face-fault.

"Are you an idiot, kid?" he asked flatly.

As the blond looked up, the eagerness still plain in his eyes, he let out a sigh.

"Listen. I would train you, but can't. Love to, but can't." he pointed at the bandanna covering his forehead. "See this?" he moved it slightly, revealing a cross-shaped mark, with many patterns around it. "I'm from the Branch family. That means I'm a servant of the Hyuuga. Training probably violates my contract."

He placed the white garment back over the glowing green mark.

"Plus, the Juken is pointless without the Byakugan." He smiled slightly at Naruto's mystified expression. "You have to be a Hyuuga. Without the Clan's bloodline, the style is practically like a stab-in-the-dark."

The blond sent him a glare. "Does that matter? I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever! And I'm gonna use the Chuken!"

"Juken." Corrected Tsukimi, with a slight smirk at the boy's obvious rage.

Naruto then proceeded to grab the man's leg. "Train me!"

"GET OFFA ME BRAT!" The raven haired man began to rub his temple. "I will seriously injure you if you don't let go. This. Instant."

"Only if you train me!"

"Jeez kid, what kind of a baby are you?!"

"Why do you have a stick up your ass?!"

"Where'd you learn that kind of language, didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk like that?!"

Naruto suddenly stopped arguing. Slowly, albeit surely, he let go of the man's leg, then got to his feet. "Sorry." He then began to trudge away from the astounded Hyuuga.

"_What did I say?" _the man though, still stunned at the blonde's abrupt departure.

XXX

When he arrived back at his apartment, the boy sat on his sofa, crouched in a ball, softly sobbing.

"_Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk like that?!"_

Naruto had gotten used to being an orphan. He'd grown up with many others, who had lost their parents from the Kyuubi attack. But he seemed so different from them. People looked at the other orphans with pity, and sorrow, while they looked at him with spite and distaste.

What did he do to deserve that?

He glanced at the pillow beside him, and pulled it closer. Sometimes he'd do this, pretending he was being wrapped up in his mother's arms. Sniffling slightly, the boy began to drift off to sleep.

Unknown to him, someone stood at the front of his apartment complex, a sad frown on his face. He placed his hands in a single seal, deactivating his bloodline.

"So… He is THE Naruto." Tsukimi whispered, a tiny bit of sadness in his voice.

He was considered an outsider to the Hyuga clan, even amongst the branch members. With his carefree attitude, he was the exact reverse of how Hyuga were _supposed_ to be; calm, stoic, and emotionless. Being a member of the clan, and not bearing these traits is unacceptable. For these reasons, this boy, Naruto Uzumaki, reminded him of his younger self.

The young boy, excluded from the rest because of something he had no control over. Like him, being a member of the branch family and bearing a significantly un-Hyuga-like attitude.

He sighed, a small nostalgic-smile dawning on his face. Maybe he couldn't train the boy… But he could at least give him some pointers in the right direction.

XXX

Naruto was awoken with a sharp ping to his forehead. The five-year old squeaked, and then fell back, landing flat out on the hard wooden floor.

Tsukimi stood over him, unimpressed. "If you become a ninja, and you get ambushed at night, are you going to react like that?"

Naruto bit his lip and glared. "I-It's not my fault, idiot!" he retorted. "You took me by surprise, that's all!"

The Hyuga cocked his head, deciding it would be better not to reply.

The young blond had stared out towards the window, his arms crossed, an angry frown plastered all over his face. "So what do you want? I thought you couldn't train me."

Tsukimi sighed at the blonde's obvious disappointment. "Listen, kid. I can't train you. The fact is unchangeable." He noticed the blond wince slightly. "But… I can give you a few pointers."

Naruto was taken aback by this. He stared, wide eyed at the now smiling man. Tsukimi knelt down and flicked the blonde's head.

"You may not be much now, but if I give you a little nudge, who knows what might happen?" he chuckled. "With my help, you could be the greatest ninja there is.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, almost as though this was too good to be true. "B-But what about the Byakyugan-thing?"

"Byakugan." Corrected Tsukimi. "And as for that, no one outside the clan has ever bothered to learn Juken. Who knows what you could do with it? For all I know, you could be the strongest Juken-user ever, or even the worst." He shrugged lightly. "Only fate will tell."

The boy grunted, and folded his arms. "I don't like fate. It's boring."

The Hyuga sweat dropped. "Did you honestly just say 'fate' is boring? As in you find the thing which our lives are set on. That kind of fate right?"

The boy nodded, stubbornly. "My life's not planned out! I choose my own way!"

That slightly philosophical comment, coming from a hyperactive blond five-year old, seemed to impress the lavender-eyed man. "For a kid, you're pretty interesting." He smiled. "Choose your own way, eh? That must be a nice thought." He grinned. "We're just like each other kid. The underdogs." He held out his hand, folding it up into a fist, only his pinky-finger unfolded. "Let's make a promise."

Naruto looked at the finger, cautiously, before linking his own pinkie with Tsukimi's.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I swear upon my blood that I will help you. Or I'll stick a thousand needle's in my eye." At the boy's look of joy, a content smile blossomed on his pale face. "I won't leave you alone kid. We're the same."

XXX

The duo of Hyuga and Uzumaki stood in a small clearing in the woods outside Konoha. Tsukimi had informed the boy that he would over-see his progress for five-minutes, and then leave him to train himself. As he said earlier, the man really couldn't train the boy. The elders of the clan would have his head, _literally_, if they knew he was divulging clan secrets to 'The Kyuubi Brat'

"So… Jyuken, eh?" Tsukimi flashed a grin at Naruto. "The point of Jyuken is to force chakra into the opponent's body, aiming at the critical chakra points. By doing so, you can close off their chakra, cripple or even kill an opponent. But…" he tapped the side of his eyes. "The Byakugan gives the Jyuken its potent effect. My eyes allow me to see chakra, and therefore aim at the chakra points with surgical accuracy."

He laughed at the horror-stricken look on Naruto's face. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll find a way to make the style work. Jyuken isn't just used for battle, it's also an amazing chakra control exercise." He held up his palm, which began top glow blue. "I'm channelling chakra into my hands to make this work. But as a kid, you probably have rubbish control."

Naruto glared at him.

"But I can give you something that'll help." The man reached into the deep pockets of his robes and drew out a roll of bandages. He took hold of one of the blonde's arms, and then began to tie the white-material around his hand, around the middle of the palm, and down the arm, leaving the fingers and thumb free to move. "This bandage is made from a highly sensitive material. Young members of my clan are given these to help start them of. Even a slight amount of chakra pushed into it helps draw out a significant amount."

Naruto stared at the gauze, amazed. Such a simple material could help him draw out chakra. A foxy grin spread wide on his face. "CHUKEN!" he slammed his fist into a nearby tree, a sudden burst of red surrounding his hand. Tsukimi only noticed when it was too late.

The entire trunk seemed to explode in a hail of splinters, the tree itself, luckily being small in size, toppling into a group of flora behind it, preventing it from falling over completely.

Naruto had instantly recoiled, shocked and scared at what he'd just done. He'd not applied much force, rather meaning it to be a joke. Heck, he'd even said the name wrong to annoy Tsukimi. And he'd just destroyed half of a tree. With one punch. Him. A five year old.

The Hyuga himself was staring; slack jawed at the pure destruction of one blow from the small boy. Jyuken, as the name implied, was not meant for wide-spread demolition, but rather gentle and silent damage, rather like senbon-users. What Naruto had just displayed resembled that of Tsunade's legendary punching.

He glanced at the boy, who was flexing his fist, an aura, rather like Tsukimi's, surrounding his fist. But this wasn't blue chakra. It was a violent angry red.

As the man stared, bewildered, he had no problem guessing where that power had come from. Now he had two choices. Tell the Hokage, or keep Naruto's new found abilities a secret. The sudden image of him and the boy linking their tiny fingers together appeared in his head. _"I swear upon my blood that I will help you. Or I'll stick one thousand needles in my eye."_

The whiskered boy now looked at Tsukimi, almost pleadingly. He really had no idea what was inside him. Tsukimi had no choice.

"Maybe you should put a little less power into it. You use that on me and my rib cage'll shatter!"

The boy suddenly grinned, and nodded, a new found confidence on his face.

"_We're just like each other kid. The underdogs."_

XXX

Funu Uchiha, nicknamed 'The Black Hearted Princess,' was mindlessly combing her hair, staring into the mirror, as though looking at a completely different person.

Her coal black eyes were constantly staring at the slightly dulled eyes of the reflection. Though only seven, the girl was beginning to show signs of maturity. Many saw her as a prodigy among the Uchiha, second only to Itachi.

But some thought that Sasuke, her cousin, was going to be better than both her and Itachi. No one quiet knew why, but he showed so much potential for one so young.

And Funu hated it. The clan. The clan. That was all anyone talked or thought about. She was chained to the name of the Uchiha, and thus expected to be great, like her ancestors. But of course, not as great as the Senju. That was the curse of the Uchiha. They were seen as the Second Best.

Funu didn't care about that stupid loss Madara suffered at the hands of the First Hokage. To her, it was in the past, and would remain there. But the rest of the clan could not be seen that way. There was no 'enough' for the Uchiha. There was always another level. If you were strong, there would be someone stronger. That was their law. Fugaku and his litter were all climbing an endless ladder, which would lead to nowhere but their inevitable demise.

The girl sighed, and brushed the glassy surface of the mirror with one finger. Could she ever find someone who would accept her, not for names or strength…? But for Funu herself?

XXX

Naruto sneezed. As he rubbed his nose helplessly, Tsukimi began to chuckle. "You know, when you sneeze like that someone must be talking about you."

"Yeah right…" sniffled Naruto. He got back up to his feet and examined the destruction he'd done so far.

Four trees, each of around equal size, had been utterly smashed. Tsukimi explained that it wasn't like super strength at all, but rather gave the affect of it. It was actually the chakra from Naruto's fist passing directly into the tree, then reacting with the nature chakra inside of said tree, causing, in simple terms; boom.

Basically; Tree + Naruto's Fist = Boom!

Tsukimi let out a sigh. "I guess I ought to go. You can keep training, and can also keep the bandages."

Naruto shrugged as he began to punch the air. "I don't mind." He grinned. "Even without your training, I'll still become the greatest Hokage ever. And I never go back on my word."

The two began to laugh, heartily, like old friends. To Naruto, this was like a dream come true. Not only had he found a friend, but slowly, he was getting closer to his goal.

But, as we all know, all dreams tend to end… And not always in a pleasant way.

* * *

**Also kind of short for an intro… I'm sort of unravelling slowly, cause I don't want him to suddenly go from Zero-to-Hero (Hercules style.)**

**Right now all he can do is punch things and make them go boom, and he does not yet have full access to the Kyuubi's chakra. Keep reading, and don't forget to review!**


	3. Never Forgotten

**Never Forgotten**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All rights belong to the author, Masashi Kishimoto.**

**XXX**

Naruto lay against a tree, in the same clearing he was usually in. This was his spot. His birthday having been two months ago, he was now six, looking on his past self like a complete stranger. He was the new-and-improved Naruto.

He had met Tsukimi about three months ago, though his encounters with the man were very brief. The Hyuga would over-see him for ten-minutes, give him some help, then leave, or would have a very short sparring match with the boy, usually ending in Naruto utterly defeated. The odd thing though, was Naruto's blow's hurt a HELL of a lot more than a regular Jyuken attack, even from one of the Main Branch member's. His attacks didn't seem to puncture the chakra veins, but rather the body muscles, which shouldn't even be possible!

Of course, his chakra system was still immature, meaning his blows weren't being used to their full affect. So far he was only able to draw out a fistful of chakra and keep it sustained for ten minutes, even with the bandages. The more experienced Hyuga clan member's could draw out an entire forearm worth, and sustain it for almost days, without the gauze.

But Tsukimi, though an enigma among Hyuga, was not an idiot. He knew of the Kyuubi, and could tell Naruto was using its power, albeit unknowingly. When Naruto had learned to harness it fully, he should be able to rip limbs off with a swat of his hand, or smash walls with a single punch.

Whatever the man had taught Naruto, it wasn't Jyuken anymore. It was something else entirely.

Of course, Naruto knew none of the above details. If Tsukimi had inherited one trait from the clan, it was secrecy. He didn't tell Naruto anything about his untold potential. For a six-year old boy to discover he had an incredible power at his fingertips, he may become a cocky idiot. And Cocky + Ninja don't mix.

Naruto usually waited for Tsukimi to arrive before training, but the man seemed to be running late. The blond hopped to his feet, and began his exercises; punching a dummy without Jyuken to train the muscles, punching the tree's with Jyuken to practice chakra control, and tree walking (Which Naruto had tried and failed to do many times.)

"1, 2, 3…" he muttered, advancing in the numeric scale after every punch to the dummy. "156, 157, 158…"

Suddenly, out of no where, Tsukimi appeared in the clearing, looking rather harassed, large bags under his pale eyes. "Hey, kid…" he muttered. The Hyuga began to rub his temple. "Listen, I really can't stay long, so can I just see how you've progressed so far?"

Naruto grinned. "Sure thing, Tsuki-sensei!"

"Don't call me that, it makes me sound effeminate."

"You are effeminate, sensei!"

Naruto laughed as the man glared at him. He headed over to a tree, and began to channel chakra into his bandaged fists. A red aura surrounded his hands. "Right…" he muttered, trying to keep full concentration. "_JYUKEN!_" he slammed his fist directly into the tree. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, then with the force of a bullet a fist sized log blasted out the other side of the tree, leaving a clean hole in the trunk. Naruto had pushed chakra in a straight line through the tree, causing the wedge of wood to blast out the tree rather like a bullet.

Tsukimi nodded, fairly impressed. "Good work. If you can do that with low concentration, it should be a very effective mid-ranged attack." Tsukimi had informed Naruto how to do this, but didn't actually show him. Mainly because he couldn't. Jyuken had no mid-range abilities, the closest thing to a far range attack being the Kaiten, but even that had low range. Naruto had mastered a new ability all together, and still had to name it.

"Now let's try a short range technique. How about a wide-spread attack with low range." He motioned to a tree. "See if you can make a clean blast into this thing's trunk, and practice nit for one hour. Then try tree walking again."

Naruto nodded, and set to work. Tsukimi had turned the kid into an effective fighter, though he lacked the constant concentration to perform well in battle. It was one thing to do it under calm training conditions, but an entirely different thing to do under an extreme pressure such as battle. But he'd learn in due time.

Suddenly remembering his situation, then man jumped. He had to get back to the compound quickly. "Sorry kid, I've gotta go!" he preformed a quick _shuishin_, vanishing from the boy's sight.

The Jinchuriki cocked his head, and then shrugged, continuing with his now solo-training. Though he didn't give the boy much time, he truly did care. And that was enough for Naruto.

XXX

"You are an idiot." Snapped an elder, before Tsukimi had a chance to speak. "For three months you make brief disappearances. You leave the clan. That could be considered treason."

The man opened his eyes only for the nearest main-branch member to hold up his hand in a clutching motion. "**Itami.**" (Pain)

Before the words left Tsukimi's lips, he screamed, the mark on his head shining through the pale bandana as if it wasn't even there.

"We do not care for your feeble excuses, Tsukimi." Muttered the eldest branch member, as he rubbed his temple. "The vote is near unanimous. Disappearing from the compound for no reason, without even informing anyone of your whereabouts, is simply unacceptable. We don't know or care about your business, but this does not mean you can go against the laws of our clan."

Tsukimi grit his teeth and clenched his fists. This motion did not go unnoticed by Hiashi Hyuga, the head of the clan. "**Juubun-Itami.**" (Perfect-Pain) He muttered.

At this Tsukimi howled, his entire body feeling like fire. His hands groped helplessly at the green seal, which was glowing a simple jade-green colour.

"Do not disrespect us."

The man smiled weakly. "As you wish, Hiashi-sama."

The head of the family nodded, then folded his arms. "You are sentenced to one month house arrest. If you dare leave the compound, you know what will await."

"Understood…" mumbled Tsukimi.

XXX

"We cannot have a wild card in our midst…" muttered one of the Hyuga council members after Tsukimi departed. "He must be disposed of. You know what he's doing."

"Training the Uzumaki-boy you mean?" muttered Hiashi, wearily. "Yes, I know. But what do you suggest father? We cannot simply kill a branch member with no apparent reason."

Another man smiled. "Perhaps WE cannot. But there is someone who can." He closed his pale eyes. "Gin."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "Him? How can we possibly hire him?!"

The elder Hyuga shrugged. "Gin will deal with anything he is hired for, and do it for a low price. Tsukimi disappears from our minds, and Gin keeps quiet. We cannot have a man divulging our style's secrets, Hiashi. Especially not to that… That… _Thing._"

The head Hyuga flinched. In truth, he felt no resentment towards Naruto. He honestly just didn't care about the boy, as a trademark Hyuga who frowns on everyone of low birth. But… He is not at fault for what he carries. So though he may not speak for the boy, he would never speak against him.

"Very well." Muttered Hiashi. "Do what you want. It is no longer a concern of mine."

The elderly male smiled. "As you wish, Hiashi-san."

XXX

"I hate you…" wheezed Naruto as he slumped to the ground, groaning. For a six-year old he bore a lot of stamina, but not enough that a dozen or so Jyuken strikes would disable him for ten minutes.

Tsukimi laughed. He'd snuck out in the early morning, taking his free time to spar with the young blond. It pleased him to pass on knowledge and help the boy, even though it put him in a bad spot with the Hyuga elders.

"Say… Tsuki-sensei…" started Naruto, before the man cut him off.

"I told you; DON'T. CALL. ME. TSUKI."

The blond laughed. "Tsukimi-sensei. I've never seen you use any of the moves you taught me." He looked down. "Are… You teaching me something different?"

The Hyuga cocked his head, then sighed. "In truth, yes. The style you're learning is completely different from the Jyuken. But…" he smiled. "It fits you perfectly. Unlike the gentle Jyuken, your style applies and incredible amount of force and range that normal Jyuken does not have. The only thing you lack is speed, which you can easily make up for with training later on."

Naruto smiled happily at this. "So… I'm learning something new! Something never-before-seen! I've got my own style!"

A thoughtful look appeared on Tsukimi's face. "Yes… I suppose you do. It may be a bastardised version of Jyuken, but bears so much potential. Speaking of which, we should probably give it a name."

Naruto grinned, and opened his mouth, before immediately being cut of by Tsukimi.

"Not Chuken, Naruto." The kid groaned. "Let me think… It's stronger than Jyuken, but slower. It deals far more damage… Let me think." He paused, then his face lit up. "I've got it! _Rougufu_!" (Rough Fist)

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Rougufu? That sounds stupid." He looked at his bandaged fist. "But… It works. It kinda fits me!"

For a six-year old, this kid was bright! "You're going to have to think up names for the techniques you've learned too. They're your own abilities. It's not my place to name any of them." He lay down on the ground, his arms folded, looking up at the still dark sky, speckled lightly with orange from the slowly rising sun.

Naruto lay beside him, and closed his eyes. "Why do you care so much, Sensei?"

Tsukimi cast an eye towards Naruto. "What do you mean, kid?"

"Well… No one else has really ever cared. I lived in an orphanage up until recently, and even the caseworkers there seemed to hate me. Some people glare at me in the streets. And I… Don't know what I've done…" small tears began to well up in his closed eyes. "I'm just a kid. I know it's selfish, but I want to know why they hate me. I've always wanted to know. And…" he opened his eyes, and looked directly at Tsukimi, who was staring back, interested. "… You come along. And you help me. You teach me. You laugh with me. And I feel good." He looked back up at the sky. "Why do you care?"

Tsukimi suddenly began to chuckle, much to Naruto's rage. "Don't ask such stupid questions kid. You're six, not twelve, so don't blame yourself for things. And you wanna know why I care?" he grinned. "Because we're friends."

Naruto stared, confused. "Friends?" he shook his head. "I know what it means. But… I've never understood it."

Tsukimi laughed again. "That's because you've never had a real friend before. But now you do." He smiled. "We will always be friends Naruto. No matter what."

Tsukimi left shortly after, but Naruto continued to lie in the clearing, staring up at the slowly brightening sky, the one word still spiralling around in his head. _"Friend."_

XXX

"Five thousand ryo for one measly assassination?" muttered the man, gruffly. He had short shaggy black hair, and a Konoha headband with a slit through the symbol tied around his eyes. His arms seemed elongated, sharp fingernails resembling claws jutting out the edge of his fingers.

The Hyuga, wearing a large bamboo hat to disguise himself, nodded.

"Sounds fishy." Muttered the man. "I hate fish."

"Rest assured, the job is easy, Gintoki." The Hyuga held out a small envelope. "Two thousand ryo up front. The rest comes after the job is over."

Gin grunted, snatching the envelope quickly and slitting it open with his feral-like claws, before counting the envelope's contents. "This is the real deal. So who do you want done in?"

The Hyuga smiled slightly. "Tsukimi Hyuga. A member of the branch family. A picture is inside the envelope."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "You mind if I ask why you want this guy killed?"

The elderly man sighed. "The branch family are too wild as it is. If they think they can act freely, the system of our clan may tumble into chaos. Sacrifices are necessary."

Gin sneered, showing his elongated canines. "You really are a heartless bugger aren't ya?"

A chakra charged hand zoomed forward, the middle finer stopping an inch from Gin's neck, pricking the scarf he wore. "Do not mock me, Inuzuka. You are no better."

Gin shrugged. "At least I have principles; I KNOW what I do is wrong. Of course that doesn't stop me. Beggars can't be choosers."

XXX

Tsukimi landed in the clearing, then folded his arms. He was early, which definitely wasn't a good thing, mainly due to his house arrest. This cut his time by a significant amount.

The blond boy suddenly appeared in the clearing, grinning like a Cheshire cat, the previous day's experience obviously forgotten. "Hey, sensei!"

Tsukimi nodded wearily. "Hey kid…" he rubbed his eyes and groaned. "So, you advanced in anyway since our last meeting?"

Naruto frowned slightly, and cocked his head. "Nah… I couldn't do anything with that last technique you described. IT'S REALLY ANNOYING!"

The Hyuga grinned sheepishly. "Well, as I said yesterday, I won't be much help. I'm just the designer, but you need to be the sculptor."

Naruto huffed, and crossed his arms. "That sucks…"

Tsukimi laughed, then suddenly froze. Something was coming this way. Fast. "_Byakugan!_" veins popped around his eyes, his vision suddenly expanding. Sure enough, he saw a figure, almost upon them, moving too fast to dodge. That only left one option. "_JYUKEN!_"

He spun round, slamming his fist into the oncoming blow, blocking it. The attacker grinned. "You're better than they said, Hyuga."

"_An Inuzuka?" _thought Tsukimi, ultimately confused.

Naruto backed away slightly , tripping over his own feet. Though he'd advanced at an astronomical rate in his training, he still bore the courage of an average six-year old, and his sensei could not blame him for such a thing.

"I'm afraid your family ain't so happy with you, white-eyes." Whispered the man, in a dangerous tone. "So they sent me to clean you up, if you catch my drift."

Tsukimi narrowed his eyes slightly, his byakugan still active. "You… You are 'Bloody-fang' Gin, aren't you?"

The man grinned toothily. "So what if I am? What's in a name?" his hand began to vibrate slightly. "You should be more worried of my skills rather than my title." He chuckled darkly. "You'll make lovely firewood. _TSUGA!_" (Piercing Fang)

Tsukimi grunted hopelessly as the Inuzuka began to spin, with tornado like speed, his claws ripping into the man's arms, sending him hurtling into a tree, which like its previous brethren fell.

Gin cackled and cracked his shoulders. "Come on, white-eyes give me a good work-out! I've been dying out here in banishment!" he suddenly began to sniff the air, and faced in Naruto's direction, the headband blocking out his vision. Grinning slightly, he moved the band above his eyes, revealing the wolf-like irises. "Well, well, lookie here… A fox chew-toy."

A wide grin appeared on his face. "You like bleed much kid?" he asked. "I hope so. I love gushers."

Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers. He was paralysed with fear, unable to move nor scream. The scruffy-haired man was advancing on him, holding his clawed fingers bye his lips, licking Tsukimi's blood off the nails.

"Say nighty-night, brat." Grunted Gin.

"_JYU-_" Tsukimi blurred into sight behind Gin, whose eyes suddenly went wide.

"Son of a-" started the Inuzuka, before the chakra-charged palm impacted his spine.

"_-KEN!!!_" roared Tsukimi, a wave of chakra shooting through Gin like a spear. Gin groaned, then collapsed.

The Hyuga smiled wearily. "Sorry 'bout that… Naru… To…" he fell to his knees, and Naruto rushed to him. "Wow… I don't remember ever using that much in one punch. I must've been pretty angry." He grinned.

"_Getsuga…_" came a weak voice.

Tsukimi's grin suddenly faded. In one swift motion, he pushed Naruto out of the way, showing his back to the now standing Gin, who was grinning like a maniac, his right hand vibrating violently.

"… _TENSHOU!_" (Moonfang Heaven-Pierce) in a blur of fantastic speed, Gin zoomed forwards, his clawed hand slamming straight into Tsukimi's back, leaving a clean scar right through his body.

The man gave out one short gasp, accompanied with a small stream of blood, before falling to the ground, no breath left in his body.

Naruto stared, his head spinning. Tsukimi was staring right at him, his eyes were open, yet he seemed as though he was… Asleep?

No, he couldn't be. But that meant. "Tsuki-sensei?" There was no reply. "Sensei! SENSEI! TSUKIMI-SENSEI!"

No words came from the man's lips. He was dead.

Gin groaned, and rubbed his now bleeding hand. "Man, I hate using that move. It stings. That was not worth five thousand." His piggy eyes look at Naruto, who had now gone silent.

"Well, might as well finish the job." He strode over to the motionless Naruto, and held his hand above his head, in a chopping position. "Say your prayers kid."

The sound that followed was a sickening crunch… Followed by Gin's scream.

The boy held up a single hand, the entire arm covered in blazing red chakra, Gin's feeble fist all-but-crushed in the boy's vice-like grip.

Naruto slowly turned to look at Gin, whose fear was now piling up. He wouldn't be afraid; he was THE Gin! The person who'd slain his own team! The Inuzuka who'd received banishment! The ruthless mercenary!

Naruto stared at him, with soulless amethyst lilac eyes. "Go to hell."

In a swift, almost enforceable motion, Naruto's fist blurred a few inches from Gin's chest. "_Rougufu:_" the fist stopped. "_Tsukimi!_" (Rough Fist: Moon Blade)

A small circular blast of chakra impacted into Gin's chest with the force of a bullet, causing him to double over, his chest crushed. The six-year old got to his feet, and stared down at Gin, an inhuman glare in his eyes. As Gin stared up, he recognised the look Naruto was giving him.

It was nothing but pure raw hatred. "Goodbye." Whispered Naruto.

Naruto made a swift movement with his chakra-charged arm, and Gin's life ended in a flash of crimson-red.

Naruto stared down at his body, his amethyst eyes glaring, and a slight solemn look about them. Slowly, they began to regain their bluish hue. And the blond boy did the only thing he deemed necessary; he screamed.

**XXX**

**Ok, It wasn't that good, but I had to give Naruto some sorrow in his past. Though I hate to admit it, having a sad introduction actually kick-starts the story rather well. (It worked for J.K. Rowling and Lemony Sniket.)**

**I'm considered sending Naruto out of Konoha to train, and have got some pretty good ideas on how to develop it. I am also considering a bloodline. But I'll leave that top you guys. A poll will be up on my profile, so make-sure to vote!**

**Naruto Goes away to train (If so, who by?)**

**Kisame-Has a kickass amount of chakra and a sword that eats people. EATS. PEOPLE.**

**Other Jinchuriki- Might as well bring one of them into it, it'll make an ideal link to Akatsuki**

**Himself-Can't go wrong with basics.**

**Doesn't go off to train-Cause Konoha's done SO much for him(!) (Sarcasm implied at this point)**

**Bloodline (I've really only got a few right now, so bear with me.)**

**Jiman no Yami (Pride of the Dark): When no light is focused on his eyes, the user gains the ability to see someone's 'Darkness' or literally the impurities of their heart. Not unlike the Bykaugan, it gives the user a wide field of vision and shows their full body. When light hits the eyes, the users elemental affinity changes to 'void'. Combined with his Rougufu, Naruto's fighting style will reach a whole new level.**

**Chikikan-Me (Blood Mirror-Eye): Gives user the ability to see the foes veins and arteries. Suiting Naruto's style, this will allow him to destroy the foe from the inside. Yay internal bleeding!**

**No bloodline (Whoopie…!)**


	4. Requiem of the Moon

**Requiem of the Moon**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**If you've seen where the poll stands recently, you'll know that Naruto does undoubtedly leave Konoha to train, but who with is still left uncertain. He won't pair up or stay single for sure till next chapter. Hope that doesn't put people off!**

**Also, looking for Beta reader. Please PM me!**

* * *

"How is he?" muttered the third, as he walked towards the hospital ward, a doctor scampering beside him.

"Well, theoretically speaking, his body remains intact, but he has just seen someone murdered and killed a man. The stress should be pilling up in head. This is a psychological issue now."

Hizuren Sarutobi sighed, and then strode into the ward. Sure enough, the young blond was sitting there, staring at the blank wall with sad, dead eyes.

The old man froze instantly, the very sight of the boy filling him with sorrow. He considered turning around and leaving, but Naruto saw him, and gave him a weak, strained smile. "Hi, Jiji…" he whispered. His tone was much different to his usual upbeat voice.

"Naruto." Whispered the Hokage, with a nod of his head. "I'm glad… That you are alright."

Naruto chuckled, again with very little enthusiasm. "You shouldn't be worried about me Jiji… You should be worrying about Tsukimi." He clenched his fist. "I… Am never going to forgive the Hyuga."

Sarutobi's eyes widened. "Naruto, my boy, what are you talking about?"

The blond screwed his eyes shut. "Tsukimi was always a prisoner. Even in his own home. Because of something he had no control over." _"Like me…" _"And he died a prisoner." His cerulean eyes shot open, and for a single moment, his irises flashed lilac. "And that is something I will never forgive!"

The hokage sighed. "Do not be so quick to hold a grudge Naruto. Embracing a dark hate has been the death of many great men, who were as wise and strong as I." he adjusted his large red hat, so it covered his eyes. "Many have died for so called revenge. And you have picked a very bad opponent to hold a grudge against. The Hyuga are wise and cunning. They are not to be trifled with."

At this Naruto grit his teeth. "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!" he glared at the Hokage, who was taken aback by the sudden outburst form the very young boy. "MY TEACHER… My… My friend… WAS MURDERED BY THOSE GUYS!"

"_I'm afraid your family ain't so happy with you white-eyes. So they sent me to clean you up, if you catch my drift." _The words of Gin echoed in his head. "They killed my friend. I… I don't want it to end like this!"

Sarutobi sighed. "Get some rest, my boy. I'll see you tomorrow." On that note, the third hokage turned on his heels, cloak billowing behind him, and exited the ward, leaving Naruto on his own; his fists clenched around the sheets, a small amount of blood ebbing out on the white material form the fresh finger-nail marks.

"I promise Tsukimi. I'll be the strongest. The strongest Jyuken-user." He closed his eyes. "No… I'll be the first and strongest Rougufu user. I'll make you proud."

"_We're just like each other kid. The underdogs."_

XXX

When Sarutobi arrived the next day, Naruto was already out of bead. He was wearing his usual orange jacket, left open revealing his white shirt with the Konoha symbol emblazoned on its centre. Around his arms, snaking up into his sleeves were the bandages Tsukimi had given him to help draw out chakra. His goggles were around his neck, their lenses shining slightly in the early morning sun.

He noticed Sarutobi and smiled a slight shred of his usual hyperactive-ness showing. "Hey, Jiji!"

His energetic aura caused a slight smile to appear on the old man's face. He had not known about Naruto's training with Tsukimi, but admittedly had seen them hanging about together occasionally. He knew, deep down, Naruto was truly suffering, though covering it with his clownish façade, not unlike Iruka.

"Naruto, I am glad to say you may leave the hospital today if you wish. I've sent your monthly allowance to your apartment as normal."

Naruto grinned. "Awesome! But… Jiji." He looked down. "What happened…? To Tsukimi?"

The old man sighed. He had hoped Naruto would not ask about this. You were unconscious for five whole days, Naruto. I am sorry. His funeral was two days ago. He has a memorial stone near the edge of the cemetery."

For a second, the boy just stared. "I-I understand…" he looked down. "Can… You show me?"

Hizuren shuffled on the spot for a moment. "I'm not really sure I should…" But seeing the blonde's wide, sad eyes melted his heart. "I will show you to the grave…" he muttered.

XXX

**Tsukimi Hyuga.**

**Aged 19**

**Beloved son of Mei & Ryujin Hyuga**

**Rest In Piece**

Naruto sat in front of the small marble stone, his eyes glassed over, reading the words over and over again.

He'd only known the man for three months, and hardly even knew anything about him. All they did was train and talk a little.

Tsukimi would mention some things about his life, his duty as a branch member, the Hyuga members he had to serve, he'd talk a little bit about how the political system in the clan was screwed, and then begin to laugh.

He hid his hatred with a mask. A few tears began to fall from Naruto's eyes, dripping into his shirt. The Hokage had long since left, deciding to leave Naruto in private.

Sitting there, for the last time with his best friend, Naruto lost all track of time. When the rain began to fall, he didn't even move, still reading the words over and over again.

Under fifteen words written on his gravestone, chosen by his own parents. A six-year old boy, who had known him little over three months, could have written a novel about this man. How he respected his foes, how he showed passion in Jyuken, how he had begun to carve the mind of a young boy.

Suddenly the tears became miniature waterfalls, his fluids streaming and disappearing with the rain. The boy howled, and slammed his fist into the ground. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he repeated the sentence over and over again, each time followed by a slam of his fist.

Giving an almighty cry of frustration, he slammed his fist to the side, a blast of red chakra shooting outwards and impacting with the wall surrounding the graveyard, leaving a large circular imprint on the wall. (A/N: It would have been a tree, but they've been abused too much lately in this story. Save the trees!)

He began to pant heavily, and then slumped onto the ground, out of breath. His cries were muffled by the earth, but he continued to moan. The first real person to ever become his friend had been murdered in front of his eyes. He'd not been able to attend the funeral. And the gravestone just seemed to spit on his memory.

One thought appeared in his head. He was going to make Tsukimi proud. He would… Become the greatest Hokage ever.

XXX

"_Jiji, what's a 'Hokage'?" asked Naruto_

_The old man chuckled, and ruffled the young boy's hair. "The Hokage is the strongest ninja in Konoha, Naruto."_

_The boy looked confused. "But you're the Hokage, Jiji!"_

_At this, Sarutobi burst out laughing. "Yes, it's hard to believe isn't it?! As you can see, I am old. But with age comes wisdom. Some day you will come to know this, Naruto. The Hokage is not only the strongest, but he is the one selected to lead with an iron yet fair will. Bending like the reeds yet standing strong like a mountain. That is the duty of the Hokage."_

_The boy suddenly grinned. "Then I'm gonna be the Hokage one day! I'll show you Jiji! I'll be the best Hokage ever!"_

The memory was playing through the old man's head over and over again as he read Naruto's letter, shaking his head in dismay. "Such a foolish boy."

_Jiji… I'm going away for a while. I don't know how long. Please don't send people after me. I've taken the allowance you've given me, food and clothes, but nothing else. I am going to become strong- No matter what. When I come back, you better have that hat ready for me!_

_-Naruto_

"Should we recover him, Hokage-sama?" asked one ANBU in a raven mask.

"No, Itachi." Said the Hokage, in a solemn tone. "It's his choice."

"But Hokage-sama; he could die out there! If he meets anyone from Iwa-"

"I have faith in Naruto." Sarutobi smiled at the young ANBU. "The will of fire burns strong in him. Just like you, my friend."

The teen nodded, with a slight feeling of pride. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The old man closed his eyes, then folded the letter in half and placed it in a deep pocket. "If anyone asks, Naruto has been moved to a different area. I trust you with this secret, Itachi."

The young ANBU bowed respectfully. "As you wish Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi chuckled, then stared out the window to the now starry sky. "Good luck, my boy. I hope you will return soon."

XXX

With a low grunt, Naruto collapsed on his knees, panting. He slid the rucksack off his shoulders, and shuffled over to some soft ground. He'd been walking for three hours straight, with no clue which direction he was walking in.

He opened his bag and pulled out a small wrapped loaf of bread and a bottle of water. He had four bottles and three loaves left, so the hope of surviving for any substantial amount of time depended on luck.

The boy finished his short meal then headed over to a group of trees tying his gauze securely around his fists. He'd never managed to complete the tree walking exercise, but he sure as hell was going to!

Momentarily forgetting about his late sensei, the boy dashed at the tree then placed his foot squarely on the trunk, letting it stick with a cushion of chakra. He then proceeded to dash up the large wooden plant with gaining speed, his energy regained due to his small meal.

When he felt his grip slipping he leapt of the branch, making a quick slash at the trunk with his chakra charged hand, leaving a small yet easily seen mark. At Konoha he'd managed to advance to around half the size of an average tree. Judging by how far he'd just reach on this one, he hadn't advanced too far.

But the boy wasn't going to give up, and with a roar of determination he dashed at the thick trunk, leaping up again and gaining a chakra-charged foothold.

When he was training, his thoughts about the outside world turned to a blank. His strength was advancing with every step he took up that tree, and the blond loved every second of it. He wasn't going to let what happened to Tsukimi happen to another one of his precious people ever again.

XXX

"What do you mean he's gone?!" roared Fugaku Uchiha, as he slammed his fist onto the desk of the council chambers.

The Hokage sighed wearily. The council had suddenly turned into an uproar as soon as he'd mentioned Naruto's departure. Part of him was silently cursing for not keeping it to himself, but as the leader of the village it was really his duty to tell the council. "Naruto left at an unknown time yesterday. His whereabouts are also unknown. All we know is he went out to train after he discovered his late teacher had been murdered by the nuke-nin Gin Inuzuka."

At this Tsume smashed the desk in front of her to pieces with one fist. "THAT BASTARD SHOWED HIS FACE?! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT TRAITOROUS PRICK?!"

"Language." Muttered Sarutobi, sternly. "And as for Gin, he is dead. We buried him in the small graveyard on the outskirts of our village. I was unaware you had not been informed."

"Like hell!" cried the angry female clan-head. "You think I'd be HERE if Gin I knew about Gin's death? I'd be dancing around getting laid in a strip-club if I'd heard sooner."

Some clan-heads muttered in disapproval.

Sarutobi allowed himself a chuckle. "I am sure I sent you a message, but it matters not. You know now. As for Naruto-"

"Send the hunter nin." Fugaku cut in immediately. "That brat is too valuable to die out in the wilderness!"

The elderly man sighed. "Duly noted Fugaku, but I trust Naruto. I am sure he can survive well enough on his own."

"Idle thinking, Hokage-_sama_." Muttered Danzo, his one eyes fixing on the Hokage. The word 'sama' seemed to be spat out his mouth with utter distaste. "You seem to forget we are talking about a six year old child. Not only does his inexperience speak against him, but the fact he is a well known Jinchuriki and a holder of the Kyuubi at that, does not go in his favour. That alone could overwhelm someone, but if meets someone from Iwa…" he closed his eye, pausing to let his point sink in. "…You know what will happen."

The man bit his lip. Danzo seemed to have unearthed all the point which he REALLY did not need at this time.

Shikaku Nara grunted, as he leant further back against the wall. "I say leave the kid. He'll do fine on his own (And fetching him would be too troublesome…)"

Inoichi shrugged. "I am indifferent to this. Though I do not care for the boy, the fact remains he is a valuable asset to this village, and may be useful in the unforeseeable future."

Choza simply chuckled. "If the boy has made up his mind, we should let him go. His letter did say he'd come back right?" he grinned happily. "I trust the Hokage's choice."

"Then I call a vote." Grunted Homura. "I vote we call back the brat."

Koharu simply nodded. "I agree with Homura. We bring back the Kyuubi jinchuriki."

"Let him do what he wants." Muttered Tsume, who seemed to be thoroughly bored with the council meeting now.

The council continued to vote until everyone present had cast their opinions.

It ended in a slim majority in favour of letting the child stay out of the village. Some had just wanted the kid out of their hair, others simply didn't care. But whatever the reasons, the vote had been cast, and nothing could be changed.

The hokage nodded, and closed his weary eyes. "It is decided. We let Naruto Uzumaki go until he decides to return. This word is final."

XXX

"Maybe I didn't think this training thing through properly…" groaned Naruto. His arms were drooping and his eyes were screwed shut as he trudged weakly along the road.

Only two days had passed and he'd eaten all his food. As he guessed, his luck wasn't really that good.

"So… Hungry…" he muttered, his pace continuing to slow with every step. He finally fell to the ground, groaning, his belly continuing to grumble. "Want… Ramen… Need… Noodles…"

He advanced into a crawl, all thoughts other than food gone from his head. Suddenly, his eyes widened. It may have been rather distant, but surely enough, there was a small village off the horizon.

His weakness gone, the six-year old was on his feet in a flash, dashing at high speed towards the now nearing village, a trickle of saliva running down his cheek. "RAMEN!!!"

**XXX**

**Chapter kinda ended in a stupid way, but that's a typical Naruto for ya! I'll keep the poll up for two more days, then bring it down and replace it with… *Cue drum role…***

**The dreaded pairings poll. DUN-DUN-DUN… Anyhow, Funu is definitely in, and maybe some other of Acepro's OC's will be in. But that's up to the poll. And as for the matter concerning Hinata, let me just say this; though I find the NaruHina pairing impossibly cute, it is also the most spammed pairing in the whole of fanfictiondom (Is that even a word?)**

**I want this story to be kinda different. That said; Naruto is basically using a remixed Jyuken, so the pairing may be appropriate. Anyway, rant over, options for pairings are over. Five girls max. Funu already in. And then there were four.**

**-Sakura**

**-Ino**

**-Hinata**

**-Yakumo**

**-Anko**

**-Temari**

**-Kin**

**-Tayuya**

**-Riri (See Acepro's profile)**

**-Fuka (The chick who kills people by kissing them. What a cliché.)**

**-Samui**

**-Karui**

**(Pauses for breath)**

**-Isari**

**-Shina**

**-Koyuki**

**-Fuu (I recommend this, as she is hardly used)**

**-Mei (Again, I recommend her as well.)**

**Cast up to four votes. See ya next chapter!**


	5. Birds of a Feather

**Birds of a Feather**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto, just like I didn't for the last few chapters!**

**On a side note, the poll for the pairings is up on my profile now! Remember; four girls! **

**On another note, this chapter may be deleted, and replaced, depending on the reaction; if the reaction sucks, I'll assume I've screwed up, and try again. I am indifferent towards this chapter, so I don't really care.**

* * *

"Ahh… Ramen… Food of the gods…" muttered the blond as he finished draining his fourth bowl. "I'll have another one, Ossan!"

"I ain't old kid!" called the shop's owner, but a grin was on his face. He'd never seen a kid demolish his food so quickly with so much relish.

The boy had appeared at his shop, literally starved, but as soon as the sweet broth and noodles touched his lips, he appeared to course with energy. That and the kid was practically fork-loading his money to the man. He had a new favourite customer!

The village Naruto had arrived at was Yamagakaru no Sato (Village hidden in the Mountains.)

Due to the ever-growing popularity of Konoha, the village's ninja population had suffered a great blow, practically shutting down all ninja business. Currently, the main source of income came from freelance guilds surrounding the town, where either ninja or samurai went to accept posts which some may find rather distressing.

But as a result, most businesses of Yama suffered terribly. So seeing four customers in at once, one being a ramen-fanatic, seemed like a blessing to the ramen-salesman.

Two twins, each with ebony hair, were sitting to the far right of the stall. One seemed to be talking fanatically, while the other simply leant back on his seat his large leather cap pulled over his eyes, a trace of bangs visible under the brim.

The other member of the stall had a similar hairstyle to that of the two twins, but donned an attitude similar to the cap wearing twin. He had simply ordered a glass of water, and had sat their peacefully.

He wore a pale blue kimono, and had dark chocolate brown eyes, one hidden by his long bangs.

Naruto meanwhile had annihilated his fifth bowl, and then began to pat his belly with satisfaction. "Like I said, ramen; food of the gods."

"Would you like a desert? Perhaps some ice cream? We do have a fine selection." The owner of the shop seemed eager to keep hold of his fine new customer.

Naruto shrugged. "Um… Can I have the vanilla? Two scoops please!"

The man nodded, a Cheshire-cat grin spreading wide on his face. As the man began to prepare the creamy treat, he asked casually what the kid was doing out in this desolate part of the Fire country.

The blond shrugged, and then stared up at the sky. "I'm training. I want to become stronger. I made a promise that I'd be the best ninja in fire country. I don't care how. I'm gonna do it!"

At this, the kimono wearing man cast a single chocolate eye in the boy's direction. "You say you wish to become strong?" he spoke in a tone which implied heavy boredom, but which contained an air of sorrow.

Naruto looked at the man, perplexed. "Eh? Yeah, I wanna be strong!"

A small smile crept onto the man's face. "I see. You remind me of someone I once knew. He was carefree, careless, and a dreamer. Just like you." He placed his glass of water down on the counter. "He died a long time ago."

The jinchuriki flinched at the man's emotionless tone. "My teacher risked his life to train me." Whispered Naruto. "And he lost it doing so. I'm not going to let something like happen to someone close to me ever again. That's why I've gotta be strong."

The man sighed. "Idle thinking boy. You obviously do not understand my meaning. Just saying you wish to become strong proves nothing. Some say they wish to be god, but only amount to worm-food. Some say they wish to die and live long and full lives." He removed a small pipe-like object from his belt, along with a carton of some fluid. He then proceeded to pour an amount of fluid into the pipe, and brought the item to his lips. "My point is simple. Saying something means nothing in the world of shinobi. One must prove their actions."

A bowl of ice cream was placed in front of Naruto, in a quick attempt to block a fight issuing between the mysterious man and the hyperactive six-year old.

"What would you know about it then?" growled Naruto, as he shoved a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. "You're quick to shun me, but aren't you just saying that? For all you know, I'm stronger than everyone in this village!"

The man blew lightly into the pipe, causing a few bubbles to flow out of its edge, before floating up into the slowly darkening sky. "My name is Utakata. I have lived twenty seven years and killed many people. Some call me a monster, some think of me as a saint." He began to blow some more bubbles. "I am content with my level of strength. If someone challenges me, I will fight, not caring of the outcome. To me, actions do not matter anymore." He stood up. "Take my advice; do not lead your life on promises. Friendship can only get you so far, and it usually leaves you dead in a gutter. Goodbye, boy."

As he walked forward, he slipped the pipe behind his back, just in time to block Naruto's charged-fist from slamming into his back. The boy was glaring at the man. "I don't care who you are, teme…" muttered Naruto. "But if you insult my promise." For the briefest of moments, his eyes flashed a pale lilac. "I'll kill you."

The bar had gone quiet now. The cap-less twin who'd been talking was looking at the two, with a mixture of worry and admiration. The twin with a leather cap was staring intently at Naruto with his one crimson eye, no emotion visible in his dark pupils.

The barman simply looked worried.

"Tell me, boy. Have you killed before?"

Naruto didn't answer, but for a moment, his stance faltered as the image of Gin whimpering appeared in his head. He remembered being angry beyond thought, without even feeling anything when he'd decapitated the man.

"I was a ninja of Kiri once. For a while I remembered names, faces, ages, everything. But after awhile, everything faded into a blur. It became routine." He took advantage of Naruto's falter, to push the boy back, then face him directly, still holding the pipe at an angle so the liquid inside did not fall out. "Killing me wouldn't help you in any way. For a moment, you'd feel satisfaction. Then perhaps regret. But eventually, you'd forget."

Naruto's eyes soften for a second, and he lowered his arms, and stopped channelling chakra into his hands. "I… Wouldn't forget."

Utakata raised a soft eyebrow. "It must be nice to hold such an innocent concept." The man whispered. Another light smile appeared on his face. "Tell me, boy… What is your name?"

The blond suddenly grinned, his sorrow again forgotten. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

At this, the cap wearing teen at the bar seemed to tense ever-so-slightly, so only his twin noticed. The gentler twin grabbed his brother's shoulder.

"Settle down, Ranpu." He whispered, in a soothing tone.

The silent teen glared, but began to relax.

Utakata closed his eye, and allowed himself a deep sigh. "Naruto Uzumaki, huh?" he turned on his heels and began to walk away. "It was nice meeting you, Uzumaki-san. We should talk again."

XXX

"Man… Everything here… IS TOO EXPENSIVE!" roared our favourite blond, as he stared at the large roster, with various scraps of papers pinned roughly to it.

The young jinchuriki, in all his wisdom, had heard snippets of info on Yama's local guild, 'The Black Nail'.

Guilds, like ninja villages, accepted requests often featuring certain requirements and boundaries. Completing the request meant money. Larger guilds sat on borders of the elemental villages, often publishing Bingo books on the local Kage's order. The bounties were then posted on the guild's roster.

Of course, to take a request, you needed to pay the guild, that way they were able to keep within budget. Smaller guilds often existed in common places, such as pubs or restaurants.

This guild was a whole building which contained a pub. But, as you can guess, a highly respectable guild would lose a fair lot of credit if all its mission requests were cheap. So Naruto had begun his rant.

"Come on! Give me a discount!"

"What are you, five? Piss off kid." Snapped the bald attendant who sat beside the roster. Under his arms was a large studded club.

"I'm going no where, baldy!" yelled Naruto.

A tick appeared on the man's head. "You've really started to piss me off brat."

He slowly got to his feet, and hefted the large club over his shoulders. "I don't like getting violent with children, but if ya keep annoying me, I'll flatten you."

"Like you'd be able to catch me, fatty!" roared the now furious blond. His previous interaction with Utakata had not only annoyed him, it had made him far easier to aggravate.

"Why you-" the man was about to swing his club, and Naruto about to charge at him with his fists charged, when a man walked in between them.

"I'm sorry, sir. I promised to get the boy a request; he must have let the excitement get to his head." Said the newcomer. "I sincerely apologise." He bopped Naruto on the head, causing the boy to fall over with surprise. "See what you did, Nii-chan? Apologise to the nice man!"

"_Nii-san?" _when Naruto recovered his balance, he realised the newcomer was one of the twin's from the bar earlier, namely the cap-less one. He was grinning ever so slightly.

When Naruto met his gaze, he winked, conveying the silent message of _"Just play along!"_

"Jeez, Onii-san, why'd you spoil my fun?" groaned Naruto, in the most painstaking voice he could muster.

The twin proceeded to ruffle Naruto's hair, then smile at the large attendant. "Sorry if he annoyed you sir. Come along, Nii-chan." He then grabbed Naruto by the arm, and yanked him over to a table. "You really know how to get yourself into trouble, don't ya?" he said, with a grin. "The name's Yami, but you can call me _Onii-san_." He chuckled at Naruto's glare.

"Why'd you help me?" muttered the jinchuriki.

Yami shrugged, and slumped onto a chair. "I dunno. Seemed like the smart thing to do I guess. But there is something I should say." He cast his one visible eye onto Naruto. "Don't mess with people here. They'd as soon as rip your head off for a Ryo note let alone an insult." Then grin returned to his face. "I was impressed with what you said to that kimono guy earlier. You're a real tough kid. You said you wanted to be strong, didn't ya?" he pulled a crumpled piece of paper out his pocket. "It's not so hard, but it's pay out will be enough for two night's lodging in an Inn."

Naruto snatched the paper, and scanned it eagerly. It was a simple delivery mission, not much to it.

"I know it may look small, but if you were serious about becoming a strong ninja, you should probably try to survive first. What did that philosopher say again? 'The Journey of a Thousand Miles starts with the first step'." He grinned. "See ya round, 'Nii-chan'." Yami then began to cackle at Naruto's rage-filled glare, before disappearing in the midst of the crowd.

The young blond watched him leave, then glanced back down at the mission. He was required to make a basic trip from one side of the town to another in about an hour. The mission, in all aspects, was a D-class.

XXX

"Why do you keep meddling?" came a calm voice.

Yami stopped, and turned round, seeing his cap-wearing twin leaning against the wall of the guild, his one eye transfixed on his brother.

"Ranpu! You scared the hell out of me!" cried Yami, happily.

"Do not change the subject, Nii-san." Said Ranpu, in a deadly tone. "Why have you helped the Uzumaki?"

Yami frowned slightly. "Because it's my duty."

The next thing he knew, Ranpu's hand was clenched around his throat. In the swift movements, the bangs in front of his right eye shifted slightly, revealing a violet eye, with a spiral tattoo encircling the socket. In the iris, instead of a pupil, was the kanji for 'Duty'.

Yami began to gag slightly, as his brother lifted him into the air, glaring daggers at him. "N-Nii-san…" he groaned. "L-Let go…"

The dark haired teen grunted, then removed his grip, and stepped back, giving his twin breathing room. "Do not talk to that boy again, or I will kill you myself." With that, he turned around, adjusting the leather hat so its shadow darkened his face.

Yami stared after his brother, rubbing his neck which was now slightly bruised. "Nii-san…"

**XXX**

**I look upon this as a bridge chapter, basically here to move the plot a teensy bit, then have no more uses whatsoever. It was also the debut of Naruto's new sensei, by popular demand: Utakata, the Six-Tailed Jinchuriki.**

**Again, the poll for the pairing is up on my profile, and again, I implore you to not vote for Hinata (Or Sakura/Ino for that matter. Naruto with them is the most spammed pairings in the history of Naruto fanfic's!!)**

**Right now in the lead are Mei and Fuu. Remember to review!**


	6. The Next Step

**The Next Step**

**Well, I've closed the pairing poll (May I just rant, and say over fifty people went against my advice and voted for Hinata?!) but still, the winners of the polls are… *DRUM ROLL* Mei, Fuu, Anko and Samui. As I said, Funu is already in. **

**BTW, sorry NaruHina fans, but I hope you'll all keep reading!**

* * *

"Thanks you so much. This fertiliser is very potent, you know." Wheezed an old man as he handed Naruto the mission pay-out.

The guild post Yami had given him consisted o transporting some highly reactive fertiliser from the shop to the old man's house in under an hour; any longer and the fertiliser would begin to disintegrate.

"Thanks." muttered Naruto. He took the reward without a moment's hesitation, and then ran off into the dark streets.

"Be careful out there boy! There are bandits in this town you know!" called the blonde's client, who by now was far out of ear-shot.

The young blond was currently flicking through the notes he'd been handed for the delivery. It wasn't much, but it would get him past a few days. Grinning at his luck, the jinchuriki grinned.

"Hey, did you hear about the fight near the fountain?"

Naruto's ears perked up.

"Yeah! That kimono-wearing guy! Apparently he ticked off a bandit leader!"

"_Kimono-wearing…?_" the image of Utakata appeared in his head almost instantly. Without a second though, he began to dash at full speed towards the centre of town, where he'd earlier passed a majestic fountain.

And with him, the plot began to move.

XXX

"Do not be so quick to anger." Muttered Utakata, as he filled up his pipe. "Being cocky will result in a swift death."

The _beast _of a man grit his teeth at the scrawny brunette bellow him. The man himself wore large plated armour, with chain-mail visible under the gaps. His black hair was groomed into dreadlocks, which hung like palm-tree leaves over his face, which was filled with rage at the sight of Utakata. "D'ya know who yer talkin' too, boyo?"

"Evidentially someone of lower birth." Replied Utakata, without a hint of emotion.

A crowd had gathered around. The pipe-wielding man still sitting, stock-still, on the fountain's edge, the huge bandit standing parallel to him. Other males, followers of the hulking man, were lining the crowd, preventing Utakata from fleeing.

"You gotta lot of balls, boyo…" seethed the man. "I'm 'Fortress' Gaul! Rogue ninja from Iwagakaru itself!"

Utakata smiled, ever so slightly. "Ah yes, I have heard of you… The idiot they kicked out shortly after promoting to chunin. Specialised in demolition, impossibly slow." He chuckled lightly. "All-round pathetic…"

"Yer' a dead bastard!" roared Gaul, as he slammed his fist forward, attempting to crush Utakata between his knuckles and the fountain.

The kimono wearing man simply sighed, and brought his free hand up to a single seal. "_Awaton…_" as the fist was a few inches from him, the grin returned. "_Awabushin._" (Bubble Release: Bubble Clone)

Gaul's fist slammed with the force of a rocket into Utakata's chest, but instead of leaving a huge bloody crater, the brunette actually exploded, in a wave of soapy bubbles.

"Wha-?" Gaul spun round, to see Utakata, now standing behind him, walking calmly towards the crowd.

One of the bandits stepped forwards. "Where are you going, huh?"

In a swift motion, Utakata had slammed his palm into the man's stomach, his movement so fast it was impossible to trace. The bandit who had been at the mercy of the attack doubled over, and coughed up blood, before falling helplessly to the earth bellow.

"I do not fight pointless battles. You annoyed me. I insulted you. That is all there is to it." He looked back at Gaul. "I do not wish to fight. So please leave while you still have a life."

Gaul grinned, albeit cautiously. "Heh, who are you kidding? D'ya really think ya can take on me AND my men?"

At this point, our favourite blond appeared in the crowd. Using his slender figure and size, he managed to weave through the crowd to get to the front, where he witnessed all of the bandits and Gaul running head on towards Utakata, who simply sighed in distaste.

"You really are cowards… _Awaton:_" he raised the pipe to his lips.

Naruto's eyes widened. The way he was so calm and tranquil at the possibility of dying. As he saw Utakata standing there, a silhouette seemed to shine over the brunette. It was that of a grinning man, wearing a bandana and staring with shining lavender eyes. "Tsukimi…?"

"KILL IM'!" roared Gaul.

"… _Soubou-Awa Hou_**.**" (Bubble release: Violent Bubble Cannon) whispered Utakata.

For a moment, the surrounding bandits seemed to freeze, and then in a flash, they were blasted outwards as a tidal wave of bubbles exploded from the nozzle of the pipe, each one exploding with the force of a bomb, ripping into the skin of all the oncoming bandits. Gaul himself, being the closest to the bubble-user, received the brunt of the attack, and was now standing statue-still, blood dripping from his forehead and chest, his armour cracked in several places.

Naruto's eyes widened. Not even Tsukimi had displayed this amount of power before; but then again, he had never seen the Hyuuga fight seriously enough to display a large amount of power.

Utakata calmly tapped the remaining liquid out of the pipe, then placed it in his pocket, before walking towards the terrified crowd. "Move, if you please." Whispered Utakata, in a voice which caused the onlooker's to instantly move.

Donning a casual, relaxed stride, Utakata began to walk towards the west area of Yama, not even casting a glance back at the heavily injured bandits. But if he had, he may have noticed the blond boy following him, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

XXX

"Welcome to Konoha, brothers!" greeted the elderly Hokage with a pleasant grin. "So sad to hear the Raikage was unable to come."

The one-eyed man nodded. "He sends his apologies. Unfortunately, he and his brother had a little problem they had to deal with." He smiled. "We of Kumogakaru no Sato extend our hand in friendship."

"And we of Konoha gladly accept your hand." Replied the Sandaime, with another warm smile. "I hope your stay in Konoha meets to your standards, and we shall discuss the treaty later over dinner. Please come to the mansion at 11."

The Kumo nin smiled to, although it was unmistakably weaker than a usual smile. The man's eyes darted to a large wall surrounding a separate mansion flanking that of the Hokages. "Who lives here, lord Hokage?"

Sarutobi stopped for a moment, and glanced at the Yin-Yang symbol emblazoned on the large gate. "That would be the Hyuuga clan. No doubt you have heard of them."

The man's face was suddenly covered in sweat. He gulped then smiled again. "Of course I have… Of course…"

XXX

"How long are you going to follow me, Uzumaki-san…?" whispered Utakata, as he suddenly stopped. He had been walking for a good half-hour, not even once glancing back.

Naruto suddenly grinned, finally having attention on him. "Until you agree to train me!"

Utakata spared a single glance at the young jinchuriki. For a moment, there was silence. "… Train you…?" In a flash, he had appeared before Naruto, the pipe barely inch from Naruto's face. The blond gasped slightly, the mere pressure of the pipe causing him to choke slightly. "If this were a real fight, you would be dead before you even realised it." He took a step back. "I am not in the habit of training anyone. The title of 'Sensei' does not suit me, and as for 'Master'." He closed his visible eye. "I do not deserve to be called such a thing." He turned on his heels. "Train yourself, Uzumaki."

The boy clenched his fists, and glared at Utakata's back. Then, with a heavy sigh, he whispered; "I have killed you know."

Utakata froze. He glanced back at Naruto, his eye slightly wider than before, showing his surprise.

"A man called Gin… He was around twenty. I don't know anything about him." Tears began to fall from Naruto's eyes. "H-he killed him…" the image of a grinning man appeared in his head. "He killed my teacher. And I was so angry." For a moment, his eyes sparkled with an amethyst shade, unnoticed by him but seen by the bubble-user. "I only thought of ending his life. It was only a few days ago. And… I killed him." The tears came by themselves now, flowing like water down a hillside. "I'm only six…"

Utakata's gaze softened slightly. "This teacher of yours. Was he the one that gave his life to protect you?"

With a great sniff, the boy nodded. He wiped his eyes with his bandaged fist, and sniffled again.

The brunette let out a small sigh. "How bothersome…" he smiled softly. "Very well. I shall test you. If you pass, you will become my pupil. And if you fail, bother me no more." He turned again. "Follow."

Naruto quickly fell into step with the man, who had begun a rather regal stride rather than a casual walk. "Let me say this; if you pass, you will address me as Sir, Sir Utakata, or Lord. Do not ever refer to me as teacher, and if you ever _speak_ the word 'Master' in my presence I shall personally dismantle your body."

The way he spoke in such an emotionless tone made him sound deadly serious.

XXX

"You seem to have engaged in an original fighting style, created by your own imagination." Muttered Utakata. "Impressive; not many can create a successful style right off the bat- in such a short space of time too. However… That in itself makes it difficult for me to train you."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Eh?! How come?!"

"Teaching someone relies on passing techniques to the pupil. My techniques all rely on my fighting style. It is a simple 'Cause and Effect' style."

The blond grinned. "That's what I'm trying to avoid!"

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "How so? Why would you avoid the typical fighting style?"

"Cause!" grunted Naruto. "If I do something 'normal' there'll always be something that can beat it, right?"

Utakata raised an eyebrow, then gazed up at the starry sky above. "Interesting… So, in simple terms, you wish to create a style which has the perfect balance of abilities? Very interesting…" he glanced down at the very eager child. "Many choose to focus on upgrading one particular area, such as strength, defence, or ninjutsu… But you want to try and produce a balance… Very interesting." He smiled softly. "I do not know how to respond to such a request. Ordinarily, I would have laughed at such foolish thinking… But… You seem to have taken my interest, Naruto Uzumaki." He chuckled very lightly, then met Naruto's gaze. "Are you willing to risk years of training with the future shrouded in mist? So many have tried to perfect a style like yours, and all seem to have met swift deaths…"

Naruto grinned. "I'm up for it! It's what Tsukimi-sensei would want! I'll never give up; that's my way!"

Utakata laughed. "It must be nice to be a dreamer. Alright, Uzumaki, I shall indulge you. Under my critique, you shall sculpt this 'Rougufu' of yours. But understand this; I can only guide you so far. A parent may teach a child how to talk, but the child's words are its own." He then frowned. "Do not disappoint me, Uzumaki."

The boy laughed. "Yes, Sir!"

The stoic ninja produced a small leather wallet from his kimono, then tossed it at the young blond, who caught it in one hand. "Find a hotel, and rent two rooms for one night. I shall find you later on." He turned on his heels and walked off into the dark streets. "I have some unfinished business to take care of, so please don't stay up for me."

Naruto tried to protest, but the man had already disappeared into the darkness. But if he had followed, he would have noticed Utakata now standing opposite the great titan of a man from earlier, glaring at the ninja with all-round fury.

"To what do I owe the displeasure of meeting you again, 'Fortress' Gaul?"

"Don't play wit' me ya' bastard!!" roared Gaul. "You put me down in front of all my men! They all think I'm a bloody fraud now!"

"What a tragedy. Excuse me while I weep." Drawled the brunette, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"SHUT UP!!!" cried Gaul. He slung his fist forwards, pure rage clouding his judgement. He was of course brought abruptly down to earth when his fist was blocked by one of Utakata's hands.

"Do not think yourself strong, Gaul." Whispered Utakata. From the hem of his kimono a blue vapour began to emerge, crawling along the ground like a grotesque mist, encircling the pair. "I merely let you live on a whim. But attacking me twice has earned yourself forfeit." The man's shadow suddenly began to deform, no longer appearing as a man, but a huge bubbling mass, with six-tails.

Gaul's jaw dropped, as he stared helplessly at the deforming ninja. "W-What are you?! H-Help!!"

"**Do not bother… I have encircled the area in my genjutsu. No one can see, hear, or even sense our presence…**"

Gaul took a step back, then tripped, and fell, still staring, horrified at the man, no, _thing_ in front of him. Tears dripped from his eyes. "H-Help…"

"**Farewell… Itadakimasu.**" (I humbly receive)

Gaul's screams echoed for what seemed like an eternity, before a silence enveloped the surroundings. The blue mist retracted back into Utakata's kimono, and the man stood there, still with a mask of no-emotion on his face, wiping his mouth with a tissue. "Gochisosama deshita…" (Thank you for the meal)

XXX

"_Rougufu…_" Naruto swung his chakra coated fist forward, a few inches from Utakata's chest. "_Tsukimi!!_"

The man doubled over, as though making an impact with an imaginary fist. While this happened, Naruto raised his fist above his teachers head, and slammed his fist downwards, driving the bubble-user's face into the ground.

As this happened, Naruto leapt back, and paused for a few seconds. As there was no reply, he began to panic. "Sir, are you alive?"

The was no response.

"Sir? Sir?! Are you still-" the words had hardly left his lips when cold metal bit the side of his cheek, sending him sprawling out onto the ground. Utakata stood erect beside him, polishing his pipe which he had presumably hit Naruto with. He was completely unharmed, spare a few bits of dust on his kimono.

"Do not wait for your opponent to simply die. If you poison them, letting them rot is the _worst_ possible thing you could do. For example; if I was a medic nin who had just been poisoned by you, then you leave me to die in a remote area. I can simply heal myself, then come back after you. It's that simple. Kill an enemy while you can." He cast an eye in the blonde's direction. "Letting a target live can be the worst mistake of your life."

Naruto nodded, as though downloading the information.

"Your style is impressive for someone your age, but it lacks subtlety. That chakra radiating around your arm is a clear warning message, but also tells your foe to avoid you. Before long, we must find a way to hide this flaw, and perfect your speed, so seeing the chakra will be the least of their worries." The man began to twirl the pipe around in his hand. "By simply viewing you once, I get the impression your style is a mid/close-range style, an improvement of the infamous Juken style. But it has its weaknesses."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, then gasped suddenly as Utakata leaped backwards, performing a furious set of hand seals. "_Awaton: Awatama!_" (Bubble Release: Bubble Bullet)

As the words left his lips, he spat out a large stream of head-sized bubbles, each with the force of a rocket. When they arrived close to the surprised Naruto, who swept them away with a strike of his charged fist, the brunette appeared suddenly in front of the blond, his pipe now an inch from Naruto's face.

"Long range is the downfall of so many. And it may easily eradicate close and mid-range fighters before they have a chance to get in range." He slid the pipe back into his sleeve, then stood erect. "You should prepare some high defensive techniques, and perhaps some long range abilities along side it. This may provide a suitable balance."

Getting over his shock, Naruto nodded, then grinned. "Just you wait, Sir! I'm gonna be the best!"

**XXX**

**Okay, I know Naruto's acting a little childish for someone who watched his teacher DIE, but nevertheless, he is still the same Naruto (In the manga he recovered from Jiraiya's death in like five chapters, but did get REAL mad at Pain for it. Naruto is currently like that.)**

**Also for those who don't know, Utakata is the six-tail jinchuriki, and he ain't gonna be completely based of the anime-version. (I.e. turns into bijuu and eats man)**

**And finally, the little bit with the cloud-nin is just a verification of the current time period. Naruto-wiki doesn't say what age Hinata was when she was kidnapped, so, for arguments sake, I say six.**

**So until next time,**

**Hangman1**


	7. The Boy in the Fireplace

**The Boy in the Fireplace**

**(A poll is and has been up on my profile on the subject of summoning. If ya haven't voted, I suggest ya do so now!)**

**This is about a month after Naruto's met Utakata.**

**XXX**

"_Awaton:_" Utakata ran through a blur of hand seals. "_Awatama!_" a blur of bubbles exploded from his mouth, rocketing towards Naruto, who grinned, recognising the trick.

Unlike Tsukimi's training, Utakata was constantly sparring with the boy, drilling the art of prediction into his head.

"_Blows bubbles then dashes forwards to attack…"_ Naruto sidestepped, just as Utakata appeared in the space where he'd once stood, his pipe erect. If he'd stood still, the metal instrument would have drilled a hole in his head.

"_Rougufu:_" the chakra around his arm became sharp, gaining a blade like edge. "_Akaken!_" (Rough Fist: Red Blade) his fist slammed forward, the blade slicing right through his teacher's side.

"Clever…" muttered Utakata. He fell forwards, but a grin was blooming on his face. "But not clever enough." In a flash, the wounded Utakata burst into a stream of bubbles.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Awabushin?" with a sharp thud, Utakata's metal pipe tapped his shoulder.

"You are still too narrow-minded." Muttered Utakata, with a sigh. "Cloning is a simple trick that even the simplest ninja can perform. And it's just none of many; kawamiri, henge, all simple techniques which can be deadly in the art of battle." He closed his visible eye. "Don't wait for your opponent to die; I've drilled that into your head. If you cut their side, cut their head as well. Don't waste time. The sooner you weed out a clone, the faster you are done."

The blond nodded. "Alright, sir! I won't forget it!"

Utakata smiled warmly, and then quickly returned to his usual emotionless mask. "If you do well today, I may consider making a trip to the guild."

Naruto's eyes widened and a merry grin appeared on his face.

"We may just make a ninja of you yet, Uzumaki."

XXX

"Though you will be accompanying me, your part in this mission is small, but nevertheless needed." Said Utakata as he handed Naruto the slip of paper which held the mission details.

"A mission in Takegakaru?" (Hidden Waterfall) muttered Naruto as he skimmed through the paper.

"Our task is to enter a mansion and extract an Orb. The Aquarius orb to be exact. Our client appears to have a vast collection of the zodiac orbs, and this seems to be the only one he's missing. And, as stealing from high-ranking nobleman may be seen as an A-class mission in some shinobi ranks, this request was given to a guild."

Naruto skimmed through the paper again. "It says here the rewards around 13, 000 ryo and a scroll. What's in the scroll?"

"Ah… I wonder." Muttered Utakata. Naruto waited, but the man still did not answer the question.

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I suppose I could tell you, but that would ruin the surprise." He chuckled. "I'm surprised you haven't asked your role in this mission though."

Naruto's eyes glassed over, and he stared at his teacher eagerly.

"Your role is to be a distraction and magnet for any would-be guards in our said mission."

Naruto cocked his head, not understanding.

"To put it simply… You are the decoy."

XXX

The odd duo of Naruto and Utakata were meandering slowly down the moonlit road. The older of the pair seemed oddly at peace, his pipe hanging from his mouth, bubbles billowing out its end, while Naruto looked bored out of his skull. "Hey, when are we gonna be in Take?"

"I've told you, the mansion is on the outskirts of Take. Be precise in your questions, Uzumaki." He removed the pipe from his jaws, and glanced at his pupil. "We are about two hours from our destination by foot. However…" a sly smile dawned on his face. "There is a way to practice while we journey." He nodded towards the woods running parallel to the road. "If you wish, you may journey the ninja way; through the trees. Jump from branch to branch never remaining in one place for more than a second. A true test of stealth."

Naruto pouted. "I don't want to work on stealth! It's really boring!"

Utakata winced. "If you wish to provide a suitable balance of all ninja arts in your style, you must first master the basics of all arts. And as a ninja, stealth is a staple all must have. Whether you are assassin or simple genin, it must be something you master. Besides…" he blew a few more bubbles, and watched them drift off into the sky before continuing. "Would you rather spend a day fighting head-to-head, or finish a foe before they even realise they were under attack?" he closed his eye, sensing Naruto's distress. "Well, the choice is yours."

The telltale sign of snapping branches told Utakata that the boy had taken his advice and taken to the trees. "Wise choice, boy. But let me make this interesting for you…" he preformed a few hand seals, then bit his thumb, and slammed his hand on the ground. "_Kuchiyose: Pure-Kenkun no jutsu!_" (Summoning: Praying-Blade Master technique)

XXX

Naruto was leaping from branch to branch, leaving a trail of snapped pieces of wood in his wake. "Heh, this isn't actually so hard…" he muttered, with a grin. The boy began to pick up his pace slightly, leaping farther and moving even faster.

"This is awesome!!" the boy screamed to the world as he soared through the air. Utakata had quickly finished his obstacle of the tree walking exorcise in the first 24-hours of training. Now the boy could stick to branches like glue, under pressure or not.

He laughed again, the wind whipping his face as he ascended to the higher branches of the trees, occasionally jumping above the canopy and seeing the great blanket of leaves from above.

He was so caught up; he stumbled, then landed, stomach first, on a large thick branch. This action left the boy out of wind and panting, as he clung to the branch for dear life. Only when he regained proper thought did he realise it _wasn't_ a branch he was clinging onto. It was too smooth to be tree bark, almost glass like in texture. When he followed the branch to the truck of the 'tree' his jaw dropped.

Two amber eyes stared back at him. It was a giant bug. An ebony-preying mantis to be precise, but the six-year old did not know such a fact. All he knew was this thing was _big. _Big and had fangs. Big and had fangs, and (following the branch) saw-like claws.

For a few seconds, he just stared at the colossal bug, and it stared back. Then, he decided to break the silence; "YOU'RE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!!"

Above the treetop's, Utakata stood in his _Awadensha, _(Bubble-Train) a special technique he'd created which surrounded the user in a bubble, and allowed them to float and travel at either high and leisurely speed's. Hearing the high-pitched scream of a young boy, a smile appeared on Utakata's face. "How will you react, Uzumaki?"

The blond was currently dashing as fast as he could across the tree-branches, anime-tears streaming from his face as the colossal mantis chased after him, its scythe-like claws tearing through the wooden obstacles like paper. "NO FREAKIN' WAY!!" cried Naruto, still not stopping for breath. He quickly spun round, his arm coated in chakra, then slammed his fist in the creature's direction. "_Rougufu: Tsukimi!_" the bullet of red chakra hit the creature dead in the chest, making a severe dent in its armour, but not slowing the creature down in the slightest. In fact, the oversized bug seemed to get even angrier, making wide slashes with its huge claws causing whole rows of trees to fall.

"CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!" screamed the helpless blond; his speed doubling while the monster began a rampage behind him. It was like a game of cat and mouse, the latter part belonging to Naruto, the former to the giant-rampaging behind the terrified ninja.

"SOMEONE HE-LP!" roared Naruto.

The creature roared alongside him, drowning out Naruto's cry. Suddenly the blond turned round, his eyes blazing, a fist blazing with chakra. "KNOCK…" he slammed his fist forward, connecting with the lunging beast's head. "… IT OFF!!!"

There was a blast, not unlike a cannon, and the mantis was sent flying back landing in a pile of its own rubble. Naruto's fist was smoking, the chakra around it smoking, like fire.

Unseen by the blond, Utakata was watching with a critical eye. "A last resort attack… But nonetheless affective…" he glanced at his summon, which disappeared shortly after. "Seems to channel all the chakra into one critical point, then unload it at once… Interesting." He then noticed Naruto collapse. "But requires training…"

XXX

When the boy awoke, he found himself lying in what appeared to be thin air. He jumped in surprise, only to knock into Utakata, who was standing erect.

"S-Sir?" muttered Naruto.

"We are in my transport. My _Awadensha_." He cast a glance at Naruto. "I see you defeated my summon, albeit badly."

Naruto paused for a second, then pure outrage spread on his face. "YOU SENT THAT BUG AFTER ME?! WHAT KIND OF TEACHER ARE YOU?!"

"A rather extreme, yet very effective one. Besides, I had the rare chance to witness that interesting technique you used." He chuckled. "You were probably so mad you didn't even mean to use it."

The boy grumbled something about 'idiot-teacher' then glared up at the brunette. "Yeah, so. I was about to be eaten! EAT-EN!"

"Quiet, Uzumaki." Snapped Utakata, his face suddenly becoming very serious. "We are here."

Naruto swivelled round, his jaw suddenly dropping. It seemed more like a castle than a palace, huge granite walls surrounding the main building, which towered above the land like a pillar to the sky.

"This would be the house of Remake. Gen Remake being the master of the house. Last I checked he was happily married, but it mentioned nothing about children."

Naruto glanced down at the walls, then raised an eyebrow. "Where are all the guards?"

"There aren't any." Came his teacher's quick response. "They all left seven years ago. Even I am unaware why. That's why our job is so much easier." The bubble stood over a slate-tiled roof, then popped itself, dropping Naruto sharply onto the roof, and Utakata onto his feet.

He nodded at a large chimney on the roof. "That's your entrance."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless advanced on the large stone chimney. Channelling chakra to his feet, he strode up it, then peered over the top. The soot coating its sides revealed it to be very dark, but no smoke was emerging, so by that logic, there was no fire. He shakily climbed up, and looked down the pipe before a thought hit him.

"What did you mean by 'MY entrance'?" asked Naruto.

A sharp poke with the pipe in his lower back was his response, which in turn caused him to tumble, screaming all the way, down into blackness.

XXX

"Hime-sama…" The girl turned to see a tall man standing in her doorway, bowing. He had long black hair which was tied back in a neat pony-tail, and skin as pale as winter snow. Small glasses rested on his nose, and he wore a fine suit, the normal butler attire.

"Yes, Jin?" she whispered. Her voice was hollow, almost without a sense of personality, like a robot.

The man, Jin, winced. "Please, Hime-sama. Your father requests you come down to dinner. He is greatly missing your company."

The girl ran her fingers through her long green hair, then stared out the window. "What of mother?"

Jin hesitated. "The mistress…? Well-"

"She hate's me Jin." The girl whispered. "They all hate me." She glared at him. "Even you."

The ebony haired man raised an eyebrow, then strode forwards towards the small seven-year old, and knelt in front of her. "Fuu-hime." He placed a hand over his heart. "I will never hate you. You, now and forever, will be my Hime-sama." He bowed his head. "I swear on the blood of my ancestors, that I will never betray you."

Fuu stared for a second, her fuchsia eyes widening, before nodding slowly. "I may… Go down to dinner. Just tonight."

Jin grinned happily. "Hime-sama…"

The green haired girl hopped off her chair, and stared expectedly at Jin.

The young butler got to his feet, bowed again, then lead her out of the room. "Your father will be delighted to see you."

Fuu glanced down at her flat chest, then pressed her hand against the area bellow her left breast. "No… He won't."

Jin frowned. "Please do not look sad, Hime-sama. You have remained in your room for too long. I'm sure the master will be glad to see you so well."

He led her into a large hall, where they began to descend a row of crystal stairs, towards a massive dining table, where only two people sat. One was a man with dark skin and shocking silver hair, while the other was a woman with platinum blond hair.

The man glanced at Jin, then, noticing Fuu, smiled pleasantly. "Fuu-chan! You've finally agreed to leave the confines of your room?"

The girl stared blankly, still with the emotionless mask covering her face. "Yes, father."

The woman didn't say anything, instead choosing to simply send a distasteful look at the young girl. Jin bowed, then stated, "Do you require anything, Master?"

The dark-skinned man shook his head, then motioned towards the door to the servant's quarters. "You may go, Jin."

Jin nodded, winked at Fuu, and then walked casually towards the door.

As soon as he was out of view, the woman sneered. "Sit down, child."

Fuu blinked, before doing as she was told, sitting directly opposite her father and his wife. Her father clasped his hands and gazed directly at the girl, a serious expression on his face. "Fuu-chan… Your mother and I have come to a direct agreement that you are to be trained in the ways of a Kunoichi."

The girl said nothing, only continuing to stare.

"And as such, in two weeks you are to be sent away to Takegakaru to train under my dear friend Tamaka. He should put you into proper shape, and teach you how to use…" he paused. "… Your asset."

"The nanabi." Fuu muttered, without a moment's hesitation. "You wish me to control the seven-tailed horned beetle which resides inside my body."

Her father opened his mouth, then closed it again, in a rather fish-like manner. "Well, daughter-of-mine, that would be the case."

She nodded, then got to her feet. "I have suddenly lost my appetite. If that will be all father." She quickly got to her feet and turned towards the stairs.

"Don't be like that, you disrespectful girl!" snapped the blond woman. "Don't you dare talk to your honourable father and mother in such a vile tone."

Fuu cast a glance at the elder woman. "I have never seen you as my mother. You are simply an entity which harbours distastefulness. You may be many things, Hisa-san, but you are not my mother." The vibrant haired girl then proceeded to storm up the stairs, not even sparring a glance back at her father.

As she entered her room, she slammed the door behind her, then stood erect for a few moments. And then the tears flowed. The girl burst into tears, swiftly falling into a heap on the floor, while clutching the pillow on the bed and squeezing it for dear life. Thoughts began to run through her head. For all her life, she'd endured the scornful looks from the servants, the greedy glances from her father, and the hateful comments from her 'mother'. Of course, Hisa wasn't her mother. Her real mother was the personal maid to her father. When she'd been born, the maid had been discharged, and Fuu had been left alone.

Even Jin, her only friend, only spent so much time with her. _"Why? Why? Why?" _

The girl clutched the pillow even tighter, one thought began to course through her head, one wish. _"I wish… I had a friend… A real friend…_"

It happened instantly. There was an almighty crash, which caused Fuu to jump in fright, and let go of the pillow. Soot was billowing out of the fireplace, and an insane amount of coughing could be heard. "Ouch… That really hurt." A figure was lying in the grate. He was a boy, around Fuu's age, with blond hair, and orange jacket and trousers, bandages draped around his hands and three cute little whisker marks on each of his cheeks. The boy's body had received a blackish hue due to the soot, but his lightly tanned complexion was easily visible.

He groaned again, then glared up the chimney towards the night sky. "Why'd you throw me down here, Idiot-sensei?!" suddenly, his gaze fell on the shocked Fuu, who was staring, awe-struck. "Who are you?"

Kami had finally been merciful and granted a crying girl her wish.

**XXX**

**And there you have it. Bet ya didn't see that coming!**

**Here's a wee lay down of some personal Jutsu used in the story**

**Awaton: Awabushin**

**Rank- C-class**

**Description- creates a lifelike coloured clone out of bubble soap. The clone may deliver suiton or awaton based attacks, but cannot deal physical. If popped, soapy solution released, which may temporarily blind foe(s).**

**Status: Utakata's cloning technique**

**Awaton: Awatama**

**Rank- D/B-class**

**Description- Sends stream of harmless bubbles at opponent. Used only for distraction and/or temporal incapacitation (Blindness) Combined with certain techniques can create explosive bubbles which upgrades technique to B-class**

**Status: Utakata's trademark technique**

**Rougufu: Tsukimi**

**Rank- C-class**

**Description- Mid-ranged technique which fires a bullet of pure chakra at foe. At full power can punch through solid steel**

**Status: Naruto's trademark technique**


	8. Nightmare Child

**Nightmare Child**

**My new goal is too reach +270 reviews on chapter 10. HELP ME PEOPLE!!**

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Fuu blinked at the question. He had spoken in such an informal tone, that not even Jin had spoken to her in. For some reason, the strangers kind blue eyes gave off a radiant wave of trust which made her feel… Good.

"Fuu." She answered, quietly, in her normal, emotionless tone.

The stranger raised an eyebrow, a frown appearing on his face. "You sound kinda scary." He suddenly leant forwards, and touches the sides of her lips with two lightly tanned fingers, each peppered slightly in soot. At the sudden physical contact, Fuu squeaked, a sudden rush of blood flowing directly to her face. He was gently pushing up the corners of her lips, so a smile replaced the emotionless mask.

He quickly retracted his fingers, much to her disappointment, but a grin had replaced the frown on his face. "You look much better without that scary-face!"

The girl cast an eye over to her mirror on the desk beside the door and looked at herself for a moment. She saw the small smile which caused all of her features to suddenly bloom, accompanied by a slight tinge of soot on the corners of her lips.

"I'm Naruto by the way." The stranger said, with a small chuckle. "Naruto Uzumaki!" he folded his arms and studied the girl, who blushed again at being surveyed. "Um, this may be an odd question, but is there an orb-thingie in this place?"

Fuu cocked her head, evidentially confused.

Naruto drew a circle in the air with his index finger. "You know, orb, bout this high, meant to be blue, ring any bells?"

The green haired girl thought for a moment, then nodded. "There was one in father's vault in the dungeons, but I may be mistaken."

Naruto nodded. "Dungeons? Got it!" he suddenly grinned. "Just wait till that Idiot-sensei finds out I find the thing first! That'll show him for pushing Naruto Uzumaki down a chimney!"

The Nanabi jinchuriki's face fell instantly. "You are… Leaving?" all hope of having the friend she'd dream for vanished instantly, and the intense heat in her heart was doused to be replaced by one emotion. Rage.

Naruto looked back at her shaking figure, obviously surprised. "Leaving? Who said anything about that?" but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Everyone leaves me. My mother. My friends. Everyone hates me." She clutched her forehead. "I only exist to be alone." Her arm suddenly lashed out in a blur of movement, grabbing Naruto's arm, her nails digging into his flesh through the bandages. "No more." She stared up at him, longingly, her eyes now a rusty brown. "**You are mine.**"

XXX

Utakata suddenly froze as a malevolent chakra filled the air, clouding his senses and causing his head to throb. "What is this…?" he muttered, evidentially surprised.

"So you feel it too, huh?" came a silky voice from a higher rooftop. Utakata's gaze fell upon a familiar man wearing a cap with ebony bangs covering one eye. It was the cap-wearing twin from the day he met Naruto. The man was leaning against a chimney, his arms folded, a claymore type blade resting beside him. "This chakra belongs to the speciality of the Nanabi no Kabutomushi. The perfect nightmare."

The brunette's eye widened. _"The Nanabi? The jinchuriki is here?"_

"Gen Remake had a brief liaison with his personal maid, and a child was born, named Fuu. When the girl was around six months the Nanabi attacked Taki." He cast his eye at Utakata. "Gen is Taki's top seal master. The creature was sealed inside his daughter. But not only that, his child was the perfect host from the creature. A natural talent at Genjutsu."

"How do you know this…?" snapped Utakata. His sources had not informed him of a child, let alone a jinchuriki!

The man shrugged. "I have my sources. But enough of the Seven-tails." In an instant, the claymore was in his hands, the tip pointing directly at Utakata. "You see, the Nanabi has a nasty habit of obliterating the mind of those it hates. And you just cast your pupil into its clutches. A pupil…" his bangs blew aside in the wind, revealing his blind eye. "… Who I happen to hate."

Utakata gasped. "Naruto-" he was about to spin round when the man appeared in front of him, landing a punch to his gut, causing him to double over.

"And this malevolent chakra…" he licked his lips. "Just proves my theory. That boy is bug food. And I didn't even need to dirty my hands."

"Who… The hell… Are you…?" grunted Utakata with a glare.

The cap-wearing twin sneered. "Ranpu Naresu." He stepped back and gripped the claymore tightly in one hand. "Slave of the Uzumaki."

XXX

Naruto's eyes snapped open. The ceiling had disappeared. Hell, the _sky_ had disappeared! What had replaced it was a constant mosaic of dark colours, such as blue, purple and green, all brightening then vanishing in a grotesque tangle.

He groaned, and then sat up. The entire of world seemed to have faded into a mass of those three colours upon no end. Naruto was all alone. "Oi! Is there anyone there?!"

His voice echoed around the endless void, before fading out of existence. For what seemed like forever, nothing happened, but then the colours began to disappear, being replaced with what seemed like a normal room. Of course, it wasn't. It resembled Fuu's room perfect, but with a few minor differences. There was no door, the chimney had vanished, and the bookcases, which had been previously empty before, were filled with toys. Dolls of every shape and size lined the shelves, each one staring at Naruto with red piggy eyes, their sharp teeth contorted in a hideous grin.

And of course, Fuu sat there. She was sitting cross-legged on her mattress, her back visible to Naruto. But she seemed different. For one thing, her hair was a rich royal blue, and her voice seemed much lighter, almost angelic. "He'll stay…" she whispered. There was a ripping sound then a small giggle. "He'll go…" another ripping sound.

"Fuu?" the blond whispered. Though he'd only met her for five minutes, the girl undoubtedly seemed different, whether it was her gleeful tone of voice or her appearance.

The ripping sound stopped, and the girl turned around, smiling happily, her copper eyes filled with joy. "You came…"

"He came! He came!" sang the fanged dolls which lined the shelves.

Before Naruto knew what was happened, the girl had flung herself upon him, knocking him to the ground while she hugged his waist. "I'm so glad…" she whispered. "You didn't forget about me." The girl drew back a little to look into his astonished eyes. "Let's play!"

"Play! Play!" the dolls chorused, their sadistic smirks widening ever so slightly.

Before Naruto knew what was happening he was lead to a table which seemed to materialise in mid air, where he was pushed into a seat while the giggling Fuu sat opposite, smiling sweetly.

Naruto was utterly perplexed. Not only had the girl gone through some serious style changes, but her whole aura seemed to have changed. And the way she was smiling at him was a bit unnerving…

"Where are we?" he asked suddenly.

Fuu blinked in mild surprise. A teapot materialised in her hand, along with a cup. "We're in my world, Naruto-kun…" she rolled his name in her tongue then giggled whilst pouring the tea. "A world where there is no rage or sadness. Just me and my friends!"

The dolls on the shelves began to cackle. "We live for the mistress!"

"_This is just beyond creepy…_" screamed Naruto's mind. "Not to seem rude…" he said, cautiously. "But why did you bring me here?"

The girl's smile faltered for a split-second. "Because if you'd stayed in the outside world you'd have left. But when you are here, we can play together forever. You me and my friends."

Suddenly Naruto felt something dig into his legs and forearms. Four dolls had drifted over to him, floating in mid-air, and had clamped onto his limbs with their sharp jaws. "Forever." A clown-shaped doll cackled. "You'll never leave the mistresses side!"

The blond tried to push chakra to his arms, in order to smash the demented-toys, but his arms had seemed to freeze. The table in front of him began to dissolve, and Fuu walked towards him. "You'll be my friend. You'll never leave." Her eyes had lost all warmth, and her grin had faded. He watched in shock as her skin began to turn hard and blue like her hair, covering her skin in bone-like blue armour. "**You are mine.**"

XXX

"Impossible!" snapped Utakata. "Naruto has no family! He told me himself that he was an orphan!"

Ranpu smirked. "I'll bet he did. The kid is blissfully unaware of his heritage." His smirk became stony. "Which gives me reason to hate him even more." He held the claymore out in one hand and began to spin it around. "My name is Ranpu Naresu. Or Light Nameless. Born into a family destined to serve the Uzumaki. And that kid is the last of his clan."

Utakata's eye narrowed. "What happened to this 'clan'?"

Ranpu sneered. "They picked a fight with some bad people. People who shouldn't have been messed with. But-" he groped his sightless eye. "I remain a prisoner. The blood-seals of the Uzumaki remain as long as one lives." He laughed. "And as luck would have it, this eye will soon be blessed with sight. The pain will be gone." The cap-wearing man pointed the large blade at Utakata. "And I will have my name back."

The brunette glared daggers at the half-blind teen. "And you've decided to murder Naruto because of this…? Very amusing. However…" a blue mist-like chakra began to surround him, slowly fanning out to form six-chakra tails. "**I will not let you kill my student.**"

"Oho…" whispered Ranpu. "A jinchuriki. And a powerful one at that." He sneered. "You must be that rogue kiri-ninja whose master tried to murder him! Ha! A misfit teaching a mini-misfit! Fine, I'll play your game, Utakata of the Mist!"

XXX

"This… Is a genjutsu…?" muttered Naruto, the realisation flooding into his head. Utakata had taught him about the infamous illusions, and how only the most skilled users could master the complex ones.

'Fuu' grinned toothily. She was stroking his cheeks tenderly while he was suspended in the air by the creepy-doll's. "Correct, Naruto-kun. This is my Genjustu. The Perfect Nightmare. My utopia." She stepped back and held her arms out wide. "In this world, anything I want comes into existence. And anything I hate withers and dies."

"Stop being so stupid!" spat Naruto. "Life's not meant to be perfect! That's what makes it life! We can't have everything we want!"

The girl's eye narrowed. "Don't shun my world, Naruto-kun."

"This isn't a world, Fuu! This is a dream! This doesn't exist! Sooner or later, you'll have to go back into reality, and the longer you stay here, the more going back to the real world will hurt."

"SHUT UP!" screamed Fuu. The doll's released Naruto and suddenly the dark colours from before surrounded him. "THIS IS MY WORLD!" cried Fuu. Her hair suddenly returned to normal, along with her skin and eyes. "Don't call it a dream! Don't…!" The girl suddenly slumped to the ground, moaning like a wounded puppy. "I… Don't want to be alone anymore…" she looked up at him longingly. "Please don't leave me. Please."

And then it happened. Naruto showed his unusual mature side and knelt down beside the weeping girl, drying her eyes with his hands. "I won't be able to stay. But… If you want a friend." He stood up, and held out his hand. "I'll happily be your friend."

The green hared girl stared, in shock for a few brief seconds, then held out her hand and grasped his. And the illusion world melted away, revealing Fuu's real room.

"You'll… Be my friend?"

Naruto grinned. "Of course! I never go back on my word."

XXX

Ranpu winced suddenly as the malevolent chakra from earlier suddenly vanished in a flash. This sudden halt gave the chakra-cloak Utakata a suitable opening. "_**Awaton:**_" all six tails rushed towards the momentarily stunned Ranpu. "_**Awashinso!**_" (Bubble Release: Bubble-Divine Spear)

All the tails suddenly impaled Ranpu in his joints, two in each arm and one in each leg. As if this were enough, the tails suddenly transformed into a spiky barbed shape, digging into his flesh causing him to scream in agony. This move had completely immobilized him.

Utakata slowly walked towards him, holding him up by the tails. The claymore had dropped to the ground, no forgotten. "**Now…**" Utakata pointed his pipe towards the teen. "**Time to protect my student.**"

"_Impossible!_" he saw the pipe suddenly zoom closer to his face. _"I don't want to die!!_"

Then he vanished. Utakata's eye widened. The man had been pried from his tails by an unseen accomplice, and the claymore had been recovered as well. Slowly, the chakra cloak began to vanish, and Utakata stood normally atop the blood-draped roof-top. "I must remind myself to train Naruto's speed…" he muttered, casually, before continuing on his way to recover his target.

Meanwhile, in the lower forest, a hooded teen was dashing over the trees, a claymore strapped to his back and a weak-Ranpu under his arm. "You are so foolish Nii-san…" muttered the teen's savoir, tenderly. "Fighting the bubble-man would have resulted in your death. You really are hopeless without me…"

The two were silent for a moment, only the sound of the late night wind accompanying them. "I really hate him…" Ranpu suddenly said. "He's not the same as the others in the clan. Just like Kushina-sama… So I hate him."

Yami grinned. "I know, Nii-san. I know…"

XXX

The orange blur was swerving through the twisty corridors, Fuu being dragged along by one hand behind him broadcasting directions to the speeding boy.

"Left. Right. Right. Down." The instructions came from her mouth, almost mechanically, but an affectionate edge was held in her voice which had not been present before.

Naruto would flash a grin back at the girl every now and then, often accompanied by, "Thanks!" or, "You're a life saver!"

Before long, the duo had arrived at what appeared to be a dungeon, the small rooms locked and bolted, the doors barely more than a decoration. "The lord keeps this room for show, but the vault is hidden down here. Though I am unaware where."

Naruto nodded, and then walked up to a door. His fist was suddenly blazing with chakra, and the door was blown down with a single strike of his fist. He peeked inside the now open room, and sighed in disappointment. "Nope." Fuu gawked at the oblivious blond; hadn't he realised he'd taken out a concrete wall with _one punch_?!

"_**Brother…**_" Fuu winced, suddenly grabbing her head as an aged voice whispered in her ear.

"Oi, you coming?!" called Naruto as he continued down the corridor after demolishing two more walls. Fuu didn't answer but followed nevertheless, scratching her head. The Nanabi had never spoken directly to her before; only having taken position of her to speak to those outside of her, such as Gen, Hisa and Jin. So why was it talking to her now?

"Hey, I've been thinking…" muttered Naruto. "Isn't it odd no one has turned up yet? I mean, I've just blown three walls, and you activated a Genjutsu, so why hasn't anyone come?"

The green haired girl looked at the floor. "They have retreated to the Eastern wing. If anyone senses my powers they run directly to the opposite wing. They are likely to still be there."

The Kyuubi jinchuriki glanced back at her, concerned, before continuing on his trail of destruction. After three more rooms, Naruto finally struck an area which was better kept than any of the other rooms; the wall surrounding the door had been polished to such an extent the concrete had developed a slight sheen. Slowly, he held the door handle, his hand still coated in chakra, then in one quick motion he ripped the door from its hinges in a swift and silent tear. _"Utakata's defence is much stronger than this…" _he thought as he walked into the shining room, followed by a timid Fuu.

Pedestals lined the wall, trophies of every shape and size casting off their own rays of light in every colour of the rainbow. And at the edge of the room, sitting nicely atop a pedestal, was a dark blue orb with two zigzag lines running parallel to each other at its base. "And there's my target…" whispered Naruto with a grin. "Naru: One, Idiot-teacher: Nil."

**000000000000000000000000**

**Sorry for the delay, I've had an English exam and have a maths coming up soon. Ah; my pitiful life! Anyhow, I should probably clear something up- Naruto does not yet know of the Kyuubi. Neither does Utakata. I'll try and reveal it soon, but be prepared for some serious tragedy at the hands of the Red Clouds…**

**If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them! ****STILL IN DIRE NEED OF BETA.**

**Jutsu: Perfect Nightmare**

**Rank- S-class**

**Description- Sends victim to illusionary world where the users dreams are made reality. Anything which happens in this world happens in real life- You die in the nightmare, you die for real.**

**Status- Nanabi's trademark technique**


	9. The Promise of a Lifetime

**Promise of a Lifetime **

**You ready folks? Time for the last chapter in the Fuu-arc!**

**Beta by Kiyomos**

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"Why would you wish to steal such a thing? The lord has never taken much pride in that artefact."

Naruto plucked the orb from its pedestal and tucked it safely into the confines of his bag. "Because I don't like to starve and this pays for my dinner." He shrugged. "It's just a mission. But..." he flashed a grin in the girl's direction. "I made a new friend. That's a bonus."

Fuu blushed and turned away from him. _"What is this feeling...? Why...?"_ she stole a quick glance at the blond who was laughing heartily at beating his teacher to the goal. _" ...Does he make me feel so hot inside?"_

Suddenly the wall opposite them was violently ripped apart with the force of an explosion. From the smoke ebbing out of the newly placed whole a tall man emerged in front of the small children. He had dark skin and silver hair, a commanding aura surrounding him.

"Daughter of mine." He spoke in a low dangerous tone. Fuu knew the comment was directed at her. "Step away from the intruder and let daddy deal with this."

The hyperactive jinchuriki suddenly had a feral grin spread on his lightly tanned face. "Brilliant. I've been meaning to test out my training for ages!" his elongated canines flashed dangerously as he locked eyes with the tall man. "Hope you can keep up, Ossan!"

"You're a cocky brat, aren't you?" murmured Gen, with a small smile. "Good. Very good. Die with a smile brat." He pointed his black gloved hand towards Naruto's head.

Fuu's eyes suddenly widened. "FATHER, NO!!!"

"_Baku_" a seal, in the form of a kanji for death, appeared over the leather-clad palm. " _Ha_!" (Explosion)

Before Naruto could blink he was hit with the force of a cannon ball, sending him rocketing back into the wall, smoke ebbing from his forehead. His eyes had gone blank, and the boy was barely holding onto consciousness.

"_Did he move...? No..._" through the haze which clouded his sight he saw Gen, still standing erect and motionless, his palm still pointing directly at Naruto, the white seal glowing eerily over the leather glove. "_That seal Did it cause the damage?_"

"You're 20 years too early to be taking me on boy." Gen snapped, with a merciless smirk. "I am the seal-master of the Hidden Waterfall; Gen Remake!" the seal began to flash again. "Now be a good boy and die silently."

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but before any sound left his lips, Fuu had leapt in front of him, spreading her arms wide, shielding him from her fathers gaze. "Don't, father! H-he... He..."

Gen grunted, then grabbed Fuu by the face and slammed her into the wall. From the gaps in his fingers he revealed her wide eyes, frightened and filled with tears. "You're just like your mother, Fuu-chan. A hopeless romantic. But you see..." he gestured at Naruto who was still lying against the wall motionless, his mouth still open as if planning to speak. "This type of person is the lowest of the low. A boy who has sunken bellow shinobi-level. A guild-hound." He sneered. "Those who would sell their right foot for a few ryo. Pathetic creatures." A second seal began to glow on his free hand. "This is what happens to those who betray there father's, daughter of mine."

Fuu was staring helplessly at the still motionless Naruto who was gazing back, the lustre gone from his eyes; only a ghost of his former spirit remaining in his now blank irises. The girl struggled helplessly against her fathers grip, but to no avail.

"Goodbye, Guild-hound. _Bak_-"

"_Awaton..._" Gen's gaze shifted to his side slightly, to see a stranger wearing a blue kimono performing a wild set of hand seals. " ..._Awatama_!" A single bubble exploded from the confines of the newcomers jaw, slamming with the force of a rocket into Gen's chest, before exploding violently, causing him to cry in pain and drop Fuu, while rubbing his eyes frantically trying to remove the soapy liquid which now resided there.

In a flash, Utakata was beside Naruto, examining the small gash which rested in the centre of his forehead. "It'll heal. That's all that matters. You have the orb?"

Naruto nodded slowly, before getting tossed over Utakata's shoulders as they retreated through the door. Behind them Fuu was getting to her feet, following as fast as her they would allow. For a few seconds, it seemed as though Gen had not recovered, but the loud explosion from the direction of the wall erased that theory.

Sure enough, Gen was standing in the wreckage of the vault's wall, clutching his eyes which were a raw crimson colour. "I'll never forgive you... SCUM!" in a swift movement he tore both his sleeves off, revealing two tattoos which spiralled up his arm. "NOW DIE!" he thrust his arms forwards, and the seals began to glow a hazy white. "_TSUINRYU-HOU!_" (Twin-Dragon Cannon).

In a flash of light two spiralling beams of white light were flying towards the trio at a far greater speed. Utakata cast an eye behind him and grit his teeth. "Damn it!" he spun round and bit his thumb drawing blood. "_Kuchiyose..._" The white light drew closer to Fuu, who felt the heat biting her heels. " ..._Pure-Tatekun no Jutsu!_" (Summoning: Praying-Shield Master Technique)

A resounding 'boom' rang throughout the dungeon halls, and the single standing figure, Gen, began to laugh, still groping his red eyes. "Haha... I killed them... I killed... " he suddenly gasped. Fuu had been with them! His face instantly fell from a grin into a terrified grimace. "Daughter of mine...?" the smoke began to clear from the narrow corridor, and what it revealed shocked him. Where the floor should have appeared dusty due to the devastation of his technique, it was relatively clean. And above this odd patch of floor was a large hole in the ceiling.

He growled and grit his teeth. "Those damn hounds."

XXX

The ceiling of the large estate exploded as a huge bubble burst out of it. Utakata, Fuu and an unconscious Naruto resided inside. Utakata was kneeling over Naruto, examining the small scar in greater depth. "I knew Gen was a seal master... But such a thing..." he grimaced. "... Is an abomination to this world."

Fuu looked questioningly at the bubble-user. "W-will he be alright?"

"That's not the question. The real question is how your father managed such a complex seal." He narrowed his eye. "Explosive-tag like in strength; his weapon allows him to expel explosive force from his palm. But such a thing would have to be perfectly designed to the finest detail; or he would be at risk of blowing his own arm off."

Naruto groaned in his sleep. "This boy took a raw blast of that attack. If it were a normal kid, it would have smashed his skull inside-out. And that last attack he used The spiralled-seal If not for my summon, we wouldn't have survived."

_In a flash of light two spiralling beams of white light were flying towards the trio at a far greater speed. Utakata cast an eye behind him and grit his teeth. "Damn it!" he spun round and bit his thumb drawing blood. _

_"Kuchiyose..." The white light drew closer to Fuu, who felt the heat biting her heels. "...Pure-Tatekun no Jutsu!" _

_A huge mantis suddenly appeared behind Fuu, its massive claws folded in a defensive brace. As the blast hit it directly, the creature shuddered and fell back a few steps, but nevertheless didn't waver. "Awaton..." Utakata pulled Fuu beside him and Naruto, then preformed a single hand seal. "...Awadenshin!"_

"So... Where are we heading?" mumbled Fuu.

"Most likely back to Yamagakaru. But..." he looked directly at her. "You may not come with us."

Fuu's eyes widened. "W-what?! N-Naruto saved me! I can't leave him... He-"

"Don't be so self-indulgent. Do you think I have not taken this into consideration? I am thinking more of Naruto here. That attitude he had- he took on an opponent who outclassed him in every aspect and he didn't even realise it. If that boy becomes too close to someone-" he trailed off, and glanced out of the bubble towards the rising sun. "For a ninja, being attached is the same as death. If this kid becomes stronger, he may gain enemies. Who would gladly use someone close to him as bait."

The girl began to tremble.

"I have some contacts near Yama. I can leave you there. With luck, you'll be able to hone your skills and control over the Nanabi- do not ask how I know of it. You may continue to see him, but not for concentrated periods of time."

Fuu clenched her fists and glared at the kimono-wearing man. "Are you saying this out of experience?"

Utakata said nothing, instead choosing to land the bubble over a clearing in the woods, where it suddenly popped causing Fuu and the unconscious Naruto to fall onto the dirty ground. "We'll rest here tonight. Yama is a long way away. Just let the boy rest." Before Fuu could say another word, Utakata vanished in a swirl of bubbles.

For a moment, the girl just stared dumbly at the spot where Utakata had just stood, before she screamed in frustration. All her emotions- bottled up after years of solitude- were released in a furious mixture, consuming her thoughts.

"Keep it down, will ya..." a weak voice murmured. Fuu suddenly stopped yelling, glancing down at the body of the blond jinchuriki, who was staring directly at the green haired girl.

"You... You..." she couldn't finish her sentence; the words just wouldn't come.

"Um, hi-" Naruto in turn could not finish as he was cut off by a furious hug via the young girl.

"Idiot!" she snapped. "You stupid idiot! Why did you attack him?! Why?!" tears were flowing from her melancholy eyes. "You could have died! Y-you dumbass!"

Naruto chuckled nervously, and drew back from the sobbing girl. "I'm sorry bout' that. Last time I fought seriously it just sorta came out..." he briefly recalled his scuffle with Gin Inuzuka, and how his strength had suddenly flared. Gen however had beaten him in a single attack.

"Don't do it again!" she yelled. "Don't put yourself in that much danger again! If anything happened..." she sniffed. "If anything happened to you..."_ "But If you want a friend... I'll happily be your friend!"_ Even Jin, the loyal and kind butler, had never referred to himself as her 'friend.' Naruto was her first and only friend. "...I don't know what I'd do without you."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by the furious tear-filled glare she sent him. "Promise you'll never get hurt like that again! Promise me!"

The blond laughed and stood up, helping the girl to her feet as well. "Alright Fuu-chan! I'll promise!" he lashed out with his hand and intertwined his pinky finger with hers. Fuu, surprised by the sudden contact, blushed scarlet. "Fuu, I swear on my blood I'll never get beaten like that again. Or I'll stick a thousand needles in my eye!"

The girl stared dumbly at the blond in front of her, then a small smile bloomed on her young face. "Y-you mean it?"

"Of course I do!" cried Naruto, stubbornly. "This is a promise! The promise of a lifetime!"

XXX

The trio had walked for two days straight until they came to a small canyon-like area, leading into a gully. An arch covered the gap between the two canyon sides, red diamonds lining it at brief intervals.

"We part ways here." Muttered Utakata. He was staring into the distance, but it was obvious the comment was directed at Fuu. "You may go to my contacts in the diamond village. I have a friend who may be able to expand your affinity with genjutsu." He nodded slightly at the girl, then turned on his heels. "We may see you soon, or we may never meet again. Only fate will decide." He began to walk off, away from the canyon, back onto the main road. "Say your farewells."

Naruto grinned at the girl, who was pouting in sadness. "We've just met... Do you really have to go?"

The blond shrugged. "I suppose so. But that's how it is; anyway, we're definitely gonna meet again! I need to prove I've kept my promise!"

The girl giggled, then suddenly ensnared the young boy in a tight embrace, tears streaming from her eyes as she did so. "You better come back... Idiot."

He broke the embrace, nodded with a small wave, then dashed off to join Utakata in the distance. Fuu continued to stare until he was out of sight, and stared for even longer afterwards, simply rolling the thoughts of the boy in her head, replaying them over and over again. "Naruto..." she smiled softly, and touched the corners of her lips where he had first touched her. "I like that name."

XXX

"My, my- the orb of Aquarius! My collection is finally complete!" cried the huge man with a loud chuckle. He fingered the blue orb greedily, before placing It lovingly on a cushion in a row with its eleven other colleagues; each in different colours, such a crimson, emerald, lilac, fuchsia, indigo, and many more. "You would not believe how much these things are worth- over fifty thousand ryo on the black-market! I had to stretch pretty hard for someone to take this request."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's so special about some weird circles?"

The fat old man laughed heartily. "Such a silly boy! Haven't you heard of storage items?" he tapped the Aquarius's symbol, which suddenly glowed a pale white. "In each of these orbs sits an item; be it a scroll filled with hidden arts, secret maps, or powerful weapons! But not many know of their value, which is why I managed to gather so many." He cackled. "And even if they did know of the value, only I know how to open them!"

The bubble-user glanced at Naruto. "The reward is a scroll from one of the orbs. Is that correct, Mr. Client?"

"Yes, yes! Take your pick; any orb! Of course, the catch is I don't tell you what's in it, so it's a real gamble!" the man laughed again. "Even so, any item which is contained in one of these babies is worth thousands. I'm really only interested in the orbs, so I don't really care. Take your pick."

Utakata nudged Naruto forwards; then nodded at the row of orbs. "This task was for you, kid. The reward's yours this time."

Naruto grinned childishly, looking frantically from his teacher to the orbs. "Wow! Really?! Awesome!"

The client chuckled and patted his round belly. "Such an energetic little tyke! But take your time; many would take hours to choose-"

"I pick the orange one." Stated the blond stubbornly, cutting in on the man's speech. The boy was staring at the bulbous orb with mild fascination. A gothic 'M' like symbol was emblazoned on it, a slight arrow like shape veering off from the tail end of the shape.

"Ah- the orb of Scorpio. Eighth symbol of the zodiac. You've chosen that?" he was wincing slightly. "Are you sure? I mean, you can choose ANY orb-"

"Yup. I like orange." He tapped the orb slightly, causing the 'M' symbol to glow a pale amethyst.

"But- but" the orb collector could not think up an excuse to make the boy change his mind. Sighing in a defeated manner, he strode over to the orange orb, and grasped its top, so his hand was wrapped around it. "Symbol of the zodiac; open for your master. Let the light of the eighth shine." The 'M' glowed even brighter, before cracking in half, revealing a small spiral seal. With one swift tap, the orb was enveloped in smoke, and a giant scroll appeared in the man's outstretched hands. It was covered in an iron holder, with a scorpion-shaped clasp keeping it held shut.

Utakata faintly raised an eyebrow at the sight of the scroll. "How interesting. That is something I've not seen before." He watched as Naruto took the scroll and held it easily in one hand, despite its gargantuan size. "It appears to be a summoning scroll."

Naruto cocked his head. "Summoning? You mean like that giant bug thing you attacked me with?" he shuddered as he recalled the memory of the huge black mantis tearing apart the forest as it chased after him. "I'll be able to do something like that?"

"No." stated Utakata in a deadpan tone, causing Naruto to fall flat on his face. "That level of skill is millenniums beyond you. I doubt you'd be able to even sign the scroll without being rejected." He nodded at the sour-faced client, who looked rather miffed having lost such a valuable item. "We thank you for the reward, and hope to complete any other tasks you send to the guild. Come, Uzumaki."

The boy glared, then slung the scroll behind his back using the strap attached to the metal casing. "_I'll get rejected? Naruto Uzumaki will show you, idiot-teacher!"_

Utakata seemed to hear the unspoken comment, as a small smile appeared on his face. "We arrive at Yama tomorrow. Be prepared for far more gruelling training than before."

The boy's face fell as they exited the mansion. "Eh?! But why?"

"You were beaten by Gen in one attack and were rendered unconscious for nearly a whole day. That kind of weakness will get you killed." He glanced up at the clouds. "I won't have you dying, Uzumaki. Your story isn't ready to end yet."

**0000000000000000000000000 **

**That's all folks! **

**...Just kidding, the authors note is still to come; and here it is! I'm currently prepping myself for a maths exam, so I'm currently finishing off some revision. Until next time, adios!**

**Hangman1**


	10. Return to the Depths

**Return to the Depths**

**XXX**

"Your abilities have progressed an extraordinary amount since we first met." Mused Utakata as he surveyed the eager blond, who was gazing at his teacher expectantly, almost poised for an insult. The kid had taken to carrying the huge scroll around with him wherever he went, and refused to let it stray from a five-meter radius of his body. Even though Utakata had outright forbid his signing of the contract, he wanted to keep it on his person, as though proving to the scroll he was worthy to sign it.

Utakata scratched his chin, pondering silently. "I'll admit you have impressed me Naruto. Your strength is that of a low chunin and your stamina is that of a high one. However…" he narrowed his eye. "You lack subtlety in your style; you are slow, easy to predict and sloppy in your stance. If I were to rank you on the ninja scale, from zero-to-ten, I'd say you'd be a two- at best."

Naruto shouted at his teacher indignantly. "Two? That's hardly fair! I've been working my butt off for the last month! You've not given me a single break since we got back from Taki!"

The brunette shrugged, and took to his hobby of blowing bubbles from his small pipe. _"He does not seem to understand the gravity of the situation. Being simply two-out-of-ten is astounding for someone his age."_ He stopped blowing bubbles and removed his pipe from his jaws. "We will need to improve your speed and defence statistics if you're ever going to reach a balance. Right now your style is bordering on being a brawling-type; which we want to avoid at all costs. Tomorrow we journey to meet one of my contacts- she may hopefully have a solution to your problems." The man shrugged. "And while we're at it why don't we take a guild request in the area- we are particularly short on funds and as it is will hardly last five days."

"Huh? But you did a request two weeks ago! How can we have run out?" cried the annoyed jinchuriki.

"Because you- oh restrained disciple of mine- consumed a vast amount of ramen noodles and carbonated drinks in my absence, leaving us with a very small amount of ryo left. Though I blame myself for leaving you alone with my hard-earned gains." He shrugged. "From now on you receive a 15% cut of the request pay- it will be used to clothe and entertain you, but you may not touch my 85%- that goes to food and lodging."

"Aw… But that's no fair! You never buy ramen!"

"Your obsession with noodles is unhealthy. From now on you are on a diet, Uzumaki. "We leave at dawn. Pack your clothes and study the map I gave you." Utakata had been forcing ninja theory into the kid's head for the last month; either about prediction, anatomy or geography.

"_I once knew a man- Zabuza was his name. He could easily pierce a vital point of his opponent with his eyes closed. An assassin by nature, but just as deadly if confronted. If you can take out a vital point like him you'll have no problems."_

"_Seeing the present is easy- but seeing the future, that's another thing entirely. You opponent will plan ahead, but you must see their moves and counter just as fast."_

But the most common line in Utakata's arsenal was simply; _"Ninja's don't get lost, Uzumaki."_

"So where are we actually going?" asked Naruto as he stuffed what little he owned into his bag. "Grass? Cloud? You've mentioned them often enough."

The brunette paused, and then glanced at the burning fire in the corner of the inn's room. "Mist."

XXX

Utakata was awoken in the morning by a bird; a raven to be precise, tapping at his window and forcing him out of his sleep. When he saw the tag attached to its leg he knew immediately who it was from.

He opened the window and allowed the creature in, before removing the tag and the message with it. The text was short, but to the point.

"_It's been a while, Bastard. You really think, after all these years, that I'll help your so called 'disciple' out of the blue? You really are a self indulgent shit- just like Dokuri._

_But I'll see what I can do. Meet me at the usual place at 4 pm. Sharp. And stay in touch, Bastard. All of our motley crew miss you._

_xxx-Rera."_

A kiss mark in crimson-red lipstick smudged the bottom of the page beside the signature. A ghost of a smile formed on his face, but it vanished quickly. He noticed Naruto was still asleep in his own bunk, and snoring loudly, a trickle of dribble sliding down his mouth as he slept. The boy was brought sharply out of dreamland by a pipe to the head.

"Get up, Uzumaki. We have a long journey ahead of us." Utakata whispered, sharply.

The next few minutes passed in a blur for Naruto as he got dressed- slinging on his orange jacket, bandages and goggles, grabbed his bag and scroll which he strapped to his back, then dashed outside to meet Utakata who was waiting impatiently.

"We have a limited time, so we must travel fast." Murmured the bubbles user, before he began to perform a few hand signs. "_Awaton: Awadenshin._" From the ground a foamy substance began to emerge, slowly but surely enveloping Naruto and Utakata in a giant bubble. "Hold on. We're going fast."

"We're in a bubble thou-" Naruto screamed as the bubble suddenly shot up into the air and zoomed through the sky, tossing Naruto into the bouncy wall which thankfully held due to Utakata's chakra padding it.

Utakata stood stock still, his face fixed in a frown as he directed the speeding bubble to its location. But the fact remains he was taking a huge risk going to the Mist at this time- especially as the civil war was still raging. Before he'd left he'd been a notorious member of the rebellion, the Mizukage versus the Bubble-user, a battle between jinchuriki. His master had always treated those who were different in a kind manner, and when the bloodline purges were released, he was one of the first to join 'The organisation'- an elite group of rebel terrorists who fought against Yagura.

He only prayed his nightmares wouldn't plague him after returning to the place of his birth. After he'd left, hunters from both rebels and Yagura's forces were sent after him, making him no longer safe in water country, resulting in his escape to the land of fire. He cast an eye at Naruto, who was still bouncing around the bubble helplessly.

Hopefully Rera wouldn't be too hard on the kid.

XXX

Utakata finally stopped the Awadenshin above a large waterfall, which cascaded down into a crystal lake, where a single island rested, a massive castle surrounded by walls visible even from the distance. A hazy mist surrounded the spires of the castle, turning the crystal water around the lush island an eerie navy.

"that, my disciple…" whispered Utakata. "Is the hidden mist." He gestured to a bride at the side of the island, which connected it to the mainland. "One way in, one way out. A prison under the mask of a utopia."

"It can't be too bad, surely…" muttered Naruto, as he eyed the island from his safe distance.

"You haven't lived there. I have. The leader, Yagura, was once a wise and just ruler. Then he changed dramatically, and declared the bloodline purges." He crinkled his nose in disgust. "Thousands dead. People from all over the land of water- innocents. Women, children, war veterans who had lost so much fighting for their countries. Murdered by a monster." He sighed. "We do not go there. We are going down."

The boy cocked his head before the bubble abruptly popped sending him into the rushing current which lead to the mouth of the waterfall. Utakata stood calmly on the surface of the water, watching his student sink like a stone. "Y-you idiot- GULG-GULG- I CAN'T WATER-WALK!"

"Ah well, as they say in the land of wind, no better time to learn than when your life is at stake."

"YOU UGLY BAS-" he sunk again beneath the current for a large amount of time, until Utakata plucked him out the water.

"Not as graceful as I would have liked, but that is life." He slowly walked towards the mouth of the waterfall and stood calmly at its edge, watching the waves ebb out into the endless void of nothingness.

Naruto regained his senses and thus put two and two together. "No. No-no-no. You wouldn't do this; after all we've been through! I was pushed down a damn chimney! Come on! Don't!" His teacher smiled sweetly, allowing the boy to regain his confidence, before promptly throwing him off the mouth of the falls. "YOU BASTARD!" roared Naruto as he descended into oblivion.

The bubbles user shrugged, and then shed his kimono, tying it around his waist, before he too leapt off the cliff-side in an erect position, hurtling down towards the waters bellow…

XXX

"Wakey, wakey blondie." Grunted a sharp voice. One of Naruto's cerulean eyes snapped open to see a teenage boy of around 17 standing over him, with a toothy grin plastered on his pale face. The boy was red haired, and wore his hair in a boy tail. Six throwing knives were sheathed in pouches on his belt, and he seemed to be examining a large item with great interest. An item which Naruto instantly recognised as…

"…My scroll!" he lunged for it, only to have the metal case yanked out of reach by the elder boy.

"Nuh-uh, blondie. This is my room, my rules. No scroll until your older." He examined the massive item a bit more closely. "Heavy thing, two heavy for one hand…" Naruto raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. "… Doesn't seem to open. Useless." He tossed it to the ground, and shrugged. "I don't care. Burn it for all I care." He walked away from Naruto, into the darkness. "The name's Dokuri, blondie!"

Naruto grit his teeth at the unaffectionate nickname, then took notice of his surroundings. He was in a cave, the walls damp and slicked with moisture. A bed lay in one corner of the room, along with a few other odds and ends- such as a few dirty clothes, a few knives embedded in the wall, and a large dart board with the bulls eye practically worn away. "Where the hell is this place…?" mumbled Naruto, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. Too his surprise, his clothes were still wet. The boy raised an eyebrow, then grabbed the scroll and strapped it to his back. Something was really 'off' with this place. Then it hit him- like a rain drop. Literally. A drop of water landed on his head, causing him to look up in surprise.

His jaw dropped. There was no ceiling- only water. The roof water a cyan blue water, ebbing and flowing over an odd invisible force-field which he assumed to be chakra. It was so beautiful yet so terrifying at the same time- this level of power could only be accomplished by a kage-level ninja!

"Examining the architecture are we?" a female voice sang in his ear. The boy looked round and saw a 16 year old girl standing there. She had flowing red hair which ran down to her lower back, and bangs that covered one of her sea-foam green eyes. A rather skimpy dress covered her torso, only just hiding her ample chest. She was smiling sweetly at Naruto. "I am Mei. Mei Terumi." She offered him a hand and helped him to his feet. "By your drenched appearance I'm guessing you came via Heaven Falls. That should have been rough- I've only known three people to have ever used that entrance." She laughed in a heavenly tone, causing Naruto to blush. "I guess it's five now." Still holding his hand, she led him out the small chamber along the spiralling catacombs, the pale light from the sun above illuminating the cave in a bluish hue.

"You're Utakata's apprentice, aren't you?" Mei asked, without looking back at him. "He's pretty famous around here- hundreds would give their left foot to be his apprentice. You're super lucky, kid."

"I'm not a kid." Grunted the blond. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki."

The girl squealed happily. "Naruto? Aw, that's just so cute!" she glanced back at him and giggled at his furious blush. "You are too cute! But you seem to have seriously pissed my brother off."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Brother?"

"Yeah; Dokuri. He wanted to be Utakata's apprentice before the man left, and now he's come back with you. That kind of thing really dampened his day!" the cavern suddenly opened out, revealing a large room completely furnished to look like a standard living room (Except with water for a ceiling) Red sofa's lined the room between the openings in the cavern, along with a few mulberry-coloured leather chairs. On one of these pieces of furniture Utakata sat, opposite a stunning lady with a pale face and raven black hair.

She appeared to be talking to his teacher in a friendly, even informal manner, which Naruto had never seen. A single onyx black eye glanced in Naruto's direction, before scanning over him. Smiling, almost approvingly, the lady stood up and walked towards the chocked blond and Mei. "Naruto Uzumaki. My old friend has told me much about you." She knelt down so her face was level with his own, her blank onyx eyes seeming to peer into his soul. "He said you were stubborn, foolish, idiotic and bordering on insane." She paused, glancing over Naruto's exasperated expression at the statement. "… But he also said you were progressing through your new style at a rate of knots. For one so young, that is quite an accomplishment."

Turning on her heels, the woman motioned the blond to follow her through another set of caverns, Mei trailing behind, smiling happily. Utakata remained on his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face, hardly even acknowledging Naruto's appearance.

"My name is Rera Roronora. I am the current leader of our little band of rebels. Tell me Naruto, did Utakata explain about the situation in Kirigakaru?" The boy nodded, slowly- he was hardly going to forget his experience atop that damn waterfall. "Well, I and my followers are part of the Vein-Mist. A spilt from the main village, commonly referred too as the Bloody-Mist. You will understand that our Mizukage, Yagura, began a genocidal act of murdering all those who possessed clan talents- such as the Hyoton element or the Dead-Bone Pulse bloodline. Thousands dead because of one man's self-indulgent hatred. That is why Vein-Mist exists- deep in the catacombs under Kirigakaru. To overthrow the Mizukage and liberate our land."

Naruto was staring, wide eyed, at the lady in front of him, unsure what to say or what to think.

"The reason I tell you this is because I believe you have potential; potential to be a great ninja, Uzumaki. And if I help you, some emotional knot left in your heart might one day cause you to help our group in one way or another." Suddenly her arm flicked out to her side, a paint brush sliding out from the confines of her sleeve, landing gracefully in her grasp. "I am a seal-master by trade. Utakata told me of your confrontation with Gen Remake. But he is simply a hack- seals lie in their art. And I am an artist."

The cavern opened up again into a small room- single quarters belonging to Rera no doubt. There only seemed to be a pot of ink and some complex diagrams pinned to the wall. Pictures of human bodies with complex symbols lining the side of the page, along with a few markings which the boy could not decipher.

"I created many seals in my youth, Uzumaki. Seals which may help your training…" she pulled a few pieces of parchment from her desk and examined them. "The gravity seal, the drain seal… Oh, and how about the lock seal. All should form a perfect combination for one of your stature." She clicked her tongue, then made a faint gesture at Mei. "Strip him."

"…Eh?" Naruto had time to mutter one syllable when the red head pounced, quickly removing his jacket, shirt and trousers, leaving him only in his underpants. He tried to struggle but was easily blocked by the older girl's iron grip.

Rera dipped her brush into the ink pot brining barely a droplet onto the brushes tip. "To business…" she cast an eye over Naruto's form then stopped abruptly. The large tattoo on his chest caught her attention. "What…?" she drew closer and ran a cold finger along the complex spirals. "So detailed- This is truly… A masterpiece. Who created this?"

Naruto shrugged, his face showing honest confusion. "I've had it as long as I remember. Never knew what it was though."

The ebony haired woman clicked her tongue again, but found her attention drawn back to Naruto's body on whole. "I see… I see… A seal on the lower back and on both shoulders- hmm… Maybe on the legs as well, perhaps the thighs? Or should it be the legs on whole?" as she spoke to herself the brush began to glide across Naruto's skin, the cold ink burning his flesh.

"Yes, yes… That's it." She drew back, admiring her work. Naruto's whole form was covered in various spirals and runic designs, covering his arms, legs chest and back. Ominous purple light radiated from the designs, pulsing every so often in time with his heartbeat. "The ink I use is chakra sensitive- it detects the miniscule amount of chakra you permanently give off from your pores and synchronises with it. It technically becomes a tattoo- of course they disappear after being activated or deactivated; only the release seal causes them to appear. I'll show you later, but first…" she moved in again and placed the brush on his face, continuing to paint around his eyes and over his cheeks. "There we go; a finished Locking seal. I've painted all three pieces of my artwork onto your lucky body." She laughed heavenly. "I'll teach you how to use them tomorrow. Now we rest."

XXX

Three figures stood atop Heaven falls, piercing eyes staring down at the depths bellow. Each of them wore large conical hats with paper tags that covered the face and coats covered with red clouds.

"What are our orders again?" came a sharp voice wet with arrogance. The tone of voice suggested it was a young man in his late teens.

Another figure snorted, then followed to make a gruff response, "We take control of Vein-Mist. Using it as a cover we retrieve Yagura and possibly terminate. His influence over the Sanbi is proving too troublesome for leader. The Bijuu will be released into the wild where we will retrieve it later." The voice suggested a great age, possibly early fifties. From the speakers shoulder a lump appeared which spoke in its own high-pitches voice, stringed with an insane laughter. "_Yeah! A Bijuu is less trouble without a Jinchuriki!_"

The final figure simply grunted and folded his arms, green and crimson eyes staring out at the horizon. "Yagura has fulfilled his duty. He will pay the price for betraying Akatsuki. Ooi, Axel…" The two other figures glanced at the male who appeared to be the group's leader. "We move at sunset tomorrow."

**XXX**

**Kay, explanation time; the two characters I've introduced (Ooi and Axel) were never part of Akatsuki in the canon or even existed. My excuse is before Itachi and Hidan joined these two were here. But alas, I can say no more…**

**Anyways, I'm considering doing the trademark MEGA TIMESKIP chapter seeing as I've passed 9 chapters and a prologue already and he's not even hit puberty yet. THIS CANNOT GO ON!**

**And now, a word from our sponsor/beta/random person(s)**

_Kiyomos: YOSH! I AM THE GREAT, POWERFULL, MAGNIFICENT, YOUTHFUL....._

_Zorro:Ugly_

_Kiyomos: ...KIYOMOS! AND I AM THE BETA FOR THIS STORY!_

_Reina: he didn't do much_

_Kiyomos: I AM GLAD I WAS ABLE TO ADD MY FLAMES OF YOUTH TO THIS STORY! BUT ALAS REINA IS CORRECT; I ONLY CHANGED/ADDED A WORD OR TWO._

_Kenpachi: if that is true why are you even here?_

_Kiyomos: BECAUSE I CAN FEEL THE MOST UNYOUTHFULL KARMA BEING DIRECTED AT ME!_

_Reina: Why the fuck are you yelling!_

_Kiyomos: BECAUSE IT IS ANNOYING!_

_Zorro: while Kiyomos is being mauled by a PMSing Reina while Kenpachi is rotfl I shall take the liberty to say adieu._

_Kiyomos: REVIEW OR THE COOKIE MOSTERS EVIL TWIN WILL GET YOU!_


	11. An Unwelcome Guest

**An unwelcome guest**

**Disclaimer: Not added one in a while, so I might as well- with a song. I do not~ own Naruto~ it is proper-r-rty~ of Mr. Masashi-i-i~ I'm just as fan so don't sue me-e-e~ *Bows for applause***

**XXX**

"_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"_

_Water. Flooding from the ceiling- the entire system of tunnels that comprised the Vein-Mist were flooding at a rapid speed. "Something's burst the chakra field…" muttered Rera, as she rose from her seat, and strode through the low water towards its source. "Sution: Nodo-Uzumaki!" (Water Release: Throat-Whirlpool)_

_As a torrent of water rushed towards her, the woman drew back and began to inhale, sucking up the water as if she were a vacuum. For about a minute, she simply stood there, sucking up the water while turning blue in the face from lack of oxygen._

_Then, suddenly, the torrent stopped. And a single sound echoed through the moist cavern, ringing loudly- a clap. "My, my… Impressive."_

_Naruto was frozen with fear. Utakata stepped in front of him, a bit behind Rera, and held out his arm. "Stay back, Uzumaki."_

"_The famous seal-master Rera…" a figure walked into the light. He wore a black cloak with red clouds, and a bamboo hat with tassels covering his face, bar one hazel eye. "I never thought I'd meet you in person." He removed the hat, and tossed it aside, revealing chocolate brown hair, tied back in a small pony-tail. Glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, making his appearance even more sinister. "I don't suppose you've heard of me; my country chose to erase me from the history books. But my name is Axel."_

_At this, Utakata tensed; his pipe suddenly in one hand._

"_Oho, your friend seems to recognise that name. However…" a manic grin, too wide to be humanly possible, spread on his face. His irises turned coal black, and his pupils a ghostly white. "… It is far too late._

_The next thing Naruto knew, he was in the middle of a cool green field. Wind was blowing peacefully, caressing his face, enthralling his senses… But he was unable to move._

_And all hell broke loose. The grass turned to ashes, the sky turned red, and charred carcases littered the ground around him. A splitting scream rang in his ears, and it took him a while to realise HE was the one screaming. Faces he knew- recognised._

_A bloodied Rera, a decapitated Mei, a deformed Fuu, and… Utakata, kneeling in front of him, holding a small tanto blade plunged deep into his chest._

_The scream only got louder. _

XXX

Hizuren Sarutobi let out a long sigh as he strode towards his office. It had been a long day. He'd been forced to endure tirades from various people- including genins, chunins and even council members. He was, in a word, tired.

He began to massage his temple wearily as he walked into the large open room, towards the mahogany desk. But when he removed his hand from his eyes, the elderly man froze.

Sitting on the leather chair behind the desk was a boy, no older than twelve, with a small book in one bandaged hand. The other hand, also bandaged, was stuffed in his pocket. A large metal scroll was resting against the chair, almost close enough to touch the boy's arm. It took a moment for Hizuren to recall who this creature was. But deep down he knew.

The shaggy blond hair, slightly longer than it was when he was a child. The orange jacket, now a larger more mature model, with frayed edges. And those eyes… Of course, he realised that the boy had something wrong with him. Over his left eye were rather long bangs, but past a few strands of hair he could clearly see a clinical eye-patch covering the eye.

But nevertheless… This boy… "Naruto?"

As the word left his lips, a single cerulean blue eye glanced up at the hokage, and a small grin formed on the young man's face. "Yo, Hokage-jiji…"

For a moment, the tanned man just stood there, taking in the new appearance of the boy he had thought long gone. "I should really kill you…" happy tears began to form in his weary eyes. "You made me worry so much."

In one swift movement, Naruto was on his feet, only slightly shorter than the Hokage in height. "I said I'd come back, remember?" he glanced up at the crimson and white hat, resting on Sarutobi's head. "See you kept my hat warm. Don't worry, it'll be mine soon enough."

The hokage smiled warmly, before promptly grinding his fist into the blonde's head, causing him to squeal in pain.

"Oi! What gives, Baka-jiji?" cried Naruto.

"That's for making me worry!" yelled Hizuren, before pulling the boy into a warm grandfather-like hug. "And that's for returning… I'm glad you are home Naruto."

Naruto's face was covered in mixed emotions for a few moments, before his features folded into a warm grin. "Yeah… I am too…"

The Hokage drew back, and sent Naruto a serious look. "So where have you been for the last six years? I know you said you were going away to train- but I assumed you meant something over a shorter period."

Naruto chuckled lightly, a slight amount of pain easily detectable in his voice. "To be honest, I wasn't planning on coming back anytime soon…" he looked down at one of his bandaged hands, and clenched it in a fist. "I was lucky enough to train with a really strong ninja. But though I've grown I've still got a long way to go." Naruto donned a faraway look, and gazed out the window towards the dusk-covered village. "My teacher is dying."

Sarutobi's eyes widened.

"He's been weak for six years, and recently something traumatic has happened to him. He slipped into a coma, so I was forced to leave him in Kusagakaru under the care of a contact." He looked back at Sarutobi. "The truth is, I came to ask if I could apply for a genin exam. I've been living off guild money for years, so being a ninja would really be a step up… I still want to become Hokage, but…" he closed his eye. "… I feel I owe him my help. He and Tsukimi were the only ones willing to train me… And I won't lose him like I lost Tsukimi!"

For a moment, Hizuren said nothing, but then a smile appeared on his face. "I have a felling that you are keeping something from me Naruto. Something very important. But I trust you enough to give you some leeway. As luck would have it- the genin exams are beginning in a few days. With my recommendation you could easily apply." He adjusted his hat. "Is there something you are keeping from me, Naruto my boy?"

The blond stared back at the elderly man and smiled. "Like I said, Jiji. I owe my Utakata-sama more than I can ever hope to return, but one of my debts is silence. I will tell you when you need to know, Jiji."

"My, my Naruto- You have changed. That spark you had in your eye feels more like a bonfire when I look at it now."

At this, Naruto laughed heartily. "Yeah, I suppose It does." He moved one hand up to his bangs and groped the clinical eye-patch hidden behind the hair. "I suppose it does."

XXX

"So the Uzumaki boy my uncle so often ranted about has returned?" drawled Funu, in a bored tone. After the massacre, only she and Sasuke had been left alive (She had been on a genin mission at the time and had avoided the deadly assassin.) After the massacre, she was declared clan leader as she was the oldest and the only established ninja. Of course, Sasuke was placed above her in the value scale, thus she had been pushed aside into the 'temporary-leader' position, until Sasuke had become chunin level, or she married.

Sarutobi shrugged and glanced over the now silent council. "Yes, he returned earlier this day. He claims to have been training for six years with a man known as 'Utakata'. He hasn't told me the finer details, but I trust the boy enough to have faith in him."

"Utakata of the mist?" muttered Danzo, with a raised eyebrow. "He is said to be a team mate of the former Mizukage, Yagura… Also…" he locked eyes with the Hokage. "…He is the jinchuriki of the Rokubi."

At this, the whole room was enveloped in a deadly silence. The Hokage's pipe fell from his mouth to the floor, but he did not notice. "What did you say?"

"Utakata of the Mist, the infamous Bubble-user, is the Jinchuriki of the Rokubi, the Six-Tailed Slug. It's said he and Yagura were both nominated for Mizukage, but Utakata turned down the offer, letting the Sanbi Jinchuriki take over."

Funu's interest was immediately resurrected. Being a clan-head, she had heard of the Uzumaki's tenant and thought nothing of it. But hearing he was trained by a candidate for a kage! Whoever this kid was, he must be good! "A kage candidate you say?" she muttered, slyly. "What else do you know of this 'Utakata'?"

Danzo shrugged. "He went rogue after the bloodline purges started. He was a founder of the Vein-Mist. I even heard he split from that when his master tried to kill him. But I don't know much else, even with my 'sources'…"

"Did the boy speak of his abilities?" asked Inoichi.

Hizuren shook his head. "No, Naruto spoke nothing of abilities. He simply informed me briefly of his journey here then reclaimed the key to his old apartment."

"Are you sure the boy is safe?" questioned Hiashi. "Are you intending to leash him, or risk letting him to his own devices?"

The war-hawk snorted. "Be serious, Hiashi. If you want to leash anything- don't make a jinchuriki. Their kind are notorious for vendettas, and leashing them only results in pain. I would suggest keeping tabs on the boy at most- he has been trained by a notorious bingo-book figure."

The hokage nodded, then let out a sigh. Yes, this was a long day…

XXX

"Yo, Tsuki-sensei." Muttered Naruto, in a jovial tone as he stood parallel to the gravestone. "It's been a while."

The boy proceeded to sit down, cross-legged. From his bag he drew a bottle of sake, and two cups, which he began to fill. "I picked this up from water country." He muttered, quietly. "It's believed to calm the soul." Placing one cup beside the cold marble stone, he raised the other one to his lips and drained it.

"I'm still an underdog, sensei. I feel after all I've done- all I've accomplished… I still have a long way to go. I've advanced my style now, it's just like we wanted- a balanced style with no flaws or glitches. I've trained for six years getting it right, so you'd be proud…"

Of course, there was no response.

Naruto smiled sadly, then poured himself a little more sake and raised the glass to the air. "Thanks, sensei. I wouldn't be here right now without ya…"

XXX

A melancholy smile slowly faded onto the blonde's face as he stared at the tall apartment complex. "It's been a while… I'm home." Crouching down, the boy proceeded to leap onto the wall then run straight up it, using chakra to stick him to the concrete.

Before long, he'd reached the window- his window, on the third floor, fifth corridor. His home. He easily opened the window and hopped into the dusty room, the smell of must encircling the environment from lack of habitation.

The couch looked worn and dirty, the floor looked beaten and the walls were nearly peeling. Yup, he was home alright. Slinging the heavy bronze scroll off his back, the boy drew a smaller, more compact paper scroll from the pouch on his leg. "_Fuin._" (Seal)

As he flung the parchment open and twirled it around, the entire contents of the room were stored in the tiny scroll. Sealing scrolls were staples for ninja- with the ability to hold any inanimate object from paper-weights to cadavers. Each sealing scroll had a counterpart somewhere in the world- where the stored items were sent until retrieved.

He had been informed that the seal on this particular scroll was linked to a 'Scroll-Bank' not fifteen kilometres away from Kirigakaru. This at least offered some reassurance to the young boy- he'd hate to seal something very important and have it disappear forever.

With a grin, he flicked a second scroll out his pouch, and laid it on the ground, then muttered the same keyword, "_Fuin!_" the seal on the parchment began to glow, before a puff of smoke clouded the room. When the smoke cleared a TV, a cooking stove and a fine leather couch appeared in their appropriate places.

Having travelled for over six years, the boy had a habit of never unsealing too much as he was never tied to an area for very long. Chuckling lightly at the irony of suddenly being tied to a place he'd tried to escape from, Naruto removed a packet from his pocket and looked at it distastefully. "Let's see, what to eat…? Protein pills, protein pills and, well, what a surprise- more protein pills." He tossed the pack carelessly onto the couch, then flexed his muscles. "Alright, better go shopping."

Retrieving his scroll from the floor and reattaching it to his back, the Rougufu-user leapt back onto the windowsill and gazed down at the road bellow. Grinning sheepishly, he murmured, "Just like old times." Before beginning a freefall towards the streets bellow.

He landed on the ground with a heavy THUMP, the dust on the round rising in a plume. "Better than the waterfall at least…" Naruto muttered, recalling how his teacher often threw him off large bodies of water, Heaven Falls being the first of many.

"Rightie-ho…" mumbled the boy, with a sly smile. "Where's the market again?"

XXX

"Stupid brother…" Funu whispered, spite evident in her voice. The boy had 'ordered' her to buy the weekly supplies, i.e. food, tools etc.

She LOATHED her younger cousin- but he was technically the only family she had. Well, the only family who wouldn't murder her on sight. Grumbling to herself, the girl sent the store vendor a sharp glare causing him to shiver, before pointing accusingly at a pile of apples. "Give me ten!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

"Do I LOOK like a 'ma'am' to you?"

"Er- no, well, yes, no, I mean…" the young vendor paled, blood rushing to his face in embarrassment and fear.

"Yup, you do look like a 'ma'am' to me." Shot a young voice, causing a tick to appear on Funu's face. She turned to yell at the rude person- who dared speak to her, when she froze in her tracks.

A blond boy with long spiky hair, bangs covering one eye, was staring at her lazily. His face was lightly tanned and whisker marks adorned his cheeks, giving a cute if not slightly feral appearance. An orange and black jacket covered his torso, lying open revealing a mesh shirt, while baggy hakama pants covered his legs, standard ninja equipment visible through pouches attached to the fabric. A large metal scroll was strapped to his back, rivalling the size of one of the Sannin's summon scroll's.

The boy held her gaze, before grinning at the vendor. "I'll take five apples, one of those pineapples and… Ooh- a watermelon! That'll do nicely!"

The vendor nodded thankfully at his saviour, before hurriedly packing the fruit into a basket.

Funu continued to glare at the boy, but only half-heartedly. Instead of glaring at his face as a whole, she found her eyes drawn to his one visible cerulean eye- a brilliant blue in colour, sparkling with such joy… and pain?

The newcomer thanked the vendor gratefully, then glanced around the other stalls throughout the marketplace. "Let me see… Maybe some fish tonight- where'll I buy a harpoon?"

"_Oi- is this brat being serious?"_ Funu thought, incredulously. The kid was standing in the middle of a marketplace- scratch that- the BIGGEST marketplace in Konoha, and instead of wondering where to buy fish, he was looking for a FREAKING harpoon? "The fishmonger's over there, brat!" snapped Funu, her voice shrill- though she could not fathom why.

A single cerulean eye rested on her. "I know- I prefer fresh fish to market-fish. And what makes me the brat here, how old are you- 14, 15?"

She blushed furiously. "Don't mock me, brat! I'll have you know the fish here is brilliant- and I'm 15 for your information!"

A small smile twitched on his lips. "Oh? Well, I guess that means I'm your junior." He turned on his heels and waved back at her casually. "I'll take your advice on the fish!"

Grinding her teeth, Funu suddenly spotted the scorpion shaped lock on the scroll strapped to his back, perfectly visible as he stalked off. Her face paled, even more than the Uchiha's complexion usually appeared. Earlier at the council meeting the Hokage had been questioned on what the Uzumaki boy had brought with him. His answer had been simple, _"Merely the clothes on his back and a large scroll. The funny thing was, it reminded me of a summon scroll, but that would be impossible. The lock on it was shaped like a scorpion, but I have never heard of such as summon."_

"I-Impossible…" she murmured. "That b-brat…" she clenched her fist and glared at his retreating figure, her face red with anger. "U-zu-ma-ki…"

**XXX **

**Sorry for the delay- big time on the writers block! I also purchased Monster Hunter Tri recently, and have been absolutely obsessed with it! If anyone's far on in the game, can they help me- HOW DO I SLAY THE BLOODY BARROTH? I got the thing limping and began hacking it, when it SAT on me! SAT ON ME! How the F*** is that fair?**

***SIGH* Anyhow, I've had some notice on the pairing issue which has haunted many, and some are troubled by the Anko addition. I might put up a poll on removing her, but maybe I'll keep her…. I dunno.**

**See ya'll next chapter!**


	12. My Name

**My name**

**XXX**

Gen Remake began to cough loudly. Six years ago, after the loss of his prized daughter, Fuu, his world had taken a turn for the worst. The servants, no longer under the threat of a vengeful Nanabi, threw a small rebellion, before leaving the mansion and stripping it of several treasures.

Gen lost his grace with the village of Take also- as he had lost them their only Jinchuriki, not only that, one of the top three! And finally a disease, unknown in origin, had struck Take's borders, confining him to his bed.

"Hisa!" he roared, before coughing. "Hisa! Where's my sake?"

The door to his chambers open and two figures strode in. Neither of them was his wife. "Good day, Gen Remake. It's been a while since I've stood past these walls…" the voice was calm, smooth, but laced with anger.

Gen sent the intruders a questioning glance. The one who hadn't spoken wore a long cloak with a hood covering his face, while the other wore a simple green jacket, dark hakama pants, and strangely a leather cap. Bangs covered one of his eyes. "I've never seen you before- get out of my-"

"T'would be wise not to argue, Remake-san." The hooded stranger cut in. "Nii-san has been rather angry recently…"

The silver haired man grumbled and held out his hand, revealing the black tattoo. "Leave or I burn you."

To his surprise, the cap-wearing intruder laughed. "Such a pity… But to be honest…" he locked eyes with Gen, who was suddenly filled with fear, killing intent pouring off the man in waves. "… I was hoping you'd argue." In one swift movement, Gen's arm was twisted behind his back, broken.

Gen screamed, but was cut short as the intruder's hand grasped his face and squeezed, hard. "I'm going to ask you nicely… Where is Uzumaki?"

XXX

Naruto was woken by a sharp knock on his door, followed by the click of a lock opening. The elderly Hokage walked in, then froze, seeing Naruto lying on the couch staring directly back at him.

"Don't mind me asking- but why are you sleeping on the couch, my boy?"

The blond chuckled, and scratched his head peevishly. "I don't really trust bed's. The couch is closer to the window and door as well; easier to make a quick escape." He flashed the confused man a grin. "So what d'ya need, Jiji?"

A loud chuckle filled the room as the Hokage laughed. "I like this new Naruto- always straight to the point. As I mentioned on your return the genin exams are looming up at the academy. Normally you'd have to spend at least a year at the academy, but seeing as you have been off training…" he smiled warmly. "I'll cut you some slack. You can attend today. The exams themselves occur in three days time, hopefully that should give you some time to settle in and make friends."

The boy snorted, but Hizuren didn't notice. "I've not encountered any Genin on my travels…" he smiled sadly. "It may be worth some enthusiasm after all. When do I start?"

Sarutobi laughed. "The academy starts in half an hour. The graduating class are on the third floor- room 3L, you can't miss it."

A grin formed on the boy's face- before he leapt to his feet and flung on his coat. The 12 year old then proceeded to walk towards a small cup-board which had his scroll beside it. After slinging the bronze tool into the cupboard, he himself climbed in, flashing a smile at the perplexed Hokage. "Good day to you, Jiji…" he closed the cupboard doors.

In an instant, the Hokage was by the cupboard, flinging it open to see what the boy was doing… And all he found was an empty wooden cubby. He winced, before mumbling. "T-that brat…"

XXX

As the blond flew over the buildings of Konoha, he cackled to himself. That little technique was, by far, his favourite exit/entrance. Whenever he preformed it, it scared the living daylights out of most. Of course, it was simply a reverse of his usual Rougufu techniques- instead of hardening the chakra he softened it, pushing it around his body till he simply faded away. He'd named this technique _Shirohaku_ (White-Fade)

In his travels he'd managed to create a number of techniques, but was still a virgin at using them in battle. It would either be over-kill; beating idiotic bandits didn't require a flashy technique, and was nothing short of lazy, or he'd be finished before he had a chance to utilise one, in the case of the four people who'd beat him. One of them was Gen Remake, who'd nailed him with a blow to the head before he knew what hit him. Another was Axel no Chiomo (Axel of the Thousand Faces) And as for the other two- he was wiped out before he'd even seen their faces!

This kind of thing tended to happen when you hung around with a missing nin like Utakata; you encounter unbelievably weak characters, or godlike characters- but never anyone in the middle!

He came to a halt atop an armoury, fully observing where he was. The phrase _"Ninja's don't get lost, Uzumaki" _sprung to mind, but he pushed it from his thoughts. After a minutes scanning, he finally took notice of a large dome-shaped building with young children surrounding it, symbolising it as 'The Academy' as it was dubbed. Truth be told, 'The Academy' seemed more like a layman's term for 'A rather large school'.

The boy softly descended to the ground before casually strolling up to the gates, flattening the hair over his bandaged eye to make sure the eye-patch was hidden. Some students cast glances at him, but quickly returned to their conversations. He certainly didn't look like anything special. Inside the academy was a large dojo, a huge leaf target set in the middle for kunai-aim. He cast a glance at the directory, thus obtained a brief outline of how the building was spaced out.

Floor 1- Kunai, Shuriken, Taijutsu. Floor 2- Dojo. Floor 3- Classrooms (A-P) Floor 4- Classrooms (Q-Z)

Memorising the small directory, even though he would only be here for three days, the blond calmly strode up the stairs, passing the various classes. Some were empty, others packed, and it wasn't long before he came across the room with the signpost 3-L hanging above the door.

Raising his hand to knock, a sudden emotion began to tug at his chest; the he realised he'd never, not once, been in a normal class with other children. His life seemed to go birth, Tsukimi, Utakata then here. He'd travelled across the continent, and he couldn't bring himself to knock on the door?

Clearing his thoughts emotions, he let loose a long rap against the wooden door.

XXX

The class of 3-L was said to be the most promising bunch of trainee ninja's in a decade. Well, not all of them- a specific number had shown extreme promise in certain areas, while lacking motivation to tackle others.

Eight of the pupils showed this promise. The first, and most promising would be Sasuke Uchiha, the would-be heir to the Uchiha line. His entire clan had been massacred a number of years ago, so he himself had drawn back from the public eye. But he was, by far, the most promising.

The next would be Sakura Haruno, the smartest trainee in class. Her knowledge knew no bounds, but what she had in brains, she lacked in brawn.

And then there were the notorious clan heirs. The Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka heirs, Ino, Shikarmaru and Choji. The trio of clans had a famous relationship featuring the combined effort of their clan techniques- also featuring the Nara's brain, the Akimichi's brawn and the Yamanaka's leadership.

And finally there was the 'recon' team, as they were dubbed, a combination of the Aburame heir, Shino, the Inuzuka heir, Kiba and the Hyuuga heir, Hinata. With a range of abilities, the trio were formidable to say the least.

Among all the candidates his year, these eight had the promise to become legends in the near future. However, even they did not expect a loud rapping noise to come from the door, shortly followed by a blond boy of equal age to the member's of the class. Blond bangs covered one eye, and bandages were wrapped around his fists, up past the knuckles and only stopping beneath the finger tips. A heavy-looking bronze bound scroll was strapped to his back, the strap hanging loosely over his orange and black jacket.

The teacher, Iruka Umino, gave the boy a perplexed look. "Can I help you?"

A small smile appeared on the blonde's face. "Yes, thank you. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I believe I'm supposed to join this class as of today?"

This spelt confusion for the entire class- joining today? But the genin exams were barely three days away!

"Maybe you've made a mistake." Said Iruka, warmly. "The genin exams are occurring in a few days, you CAN'T be joining this class."

Naruto shrugged. "I am well aware of the exams, Umino-sensei. The Hokage informed me I'd be able to graduate as a genin if I joined this class, so he enrolled me the other day. Check if you don't believe me."

Blinking, Iruka nodded dumbly. "Sigh, very well then Uzumaki. Please take a seat next to Miss Yamanaka over there." He waved faintly at a platinum blond girl who was staring at Naruto like a wild animal.

Sending another warm smile in Iruka's direction, Naruto walked over to the vacant seat and sat down, slinging his scroll under the desk and glancing sideways at the staring girl. "Nice to meet you, Miss Yamanaka." He extended his bandaged arm towards her. "The name's Naruto." Nodding faintly, the girl lightly shook his hand before turning straight back to the teacher. _"Hm? Must be shy." _Thought Naruto, with a shrug.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we'll be assessing your abilities today to construct the rankings board for those who pass the exam. As you know, the exam consists of a written test, a ninjutsu test- featuring henge, bushin and kawamiri, and finally the practical test. However the practical test will only be used for assessment of ranks if you have completed tests A and B."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. They weren't assessing you on practical skills? That couldn't be right- some of the strongest people he'd seen relied on strength alone, not brains or ninjutsu! Grunting, he let his head slump to the desk, causing Ino to squeal in surprise. This was going to be a LONG three days.

XXX

"Nii-san… Shouldn't we stop? Naruto-sama has been gone for six years, it's like finding a specific piece of hay in a hay-stack!"

Ranpu glanced back at his brother, then dropped the bandit he'd just strangled. "North he said. North we went. All we find are these…" he motioned to the mutilated corpses in the corner of the cave. "…vermin. We have been conned by that weasel of a man, Gen Remake. And you would have me stop?"

Yami lowered his head, his face still obscured by the hood. "There is a reason we are bound to the Uzumaki, Nii-san. We are eternally loyal. You have no idea how much we've violated the contract-"

"Don't mention that contract in my presence!" roared Ranpu, spinning round suddenly, his eye blazing. A wave of blood exploded from the corpses, as though they were hit by invisible blades. "You said you would follow me brother- and I agreed. But it's your choice whether you walk, or I drag you in a body-bag!" he regained his posture, and cleared his throat, his voice suddenly gaining an unnerving edge. "What's it to be?"

There was the sound of a sharp intake of breath, followed by a long and heavy sigh. "I'll follow you Nii-san. But please don't do anything rash."

A sneer spread over the ebony-haired teen's face. "Rash?" he glanced over at the cut up bodies, then preformed a single hand seal. At once there was an explosion of blood. No bone, no flesh, just blood. "Who said anything about being 'rash', brother?"

XXX

"_Welcome to dreamland, sleepy-head…" sang an eerily jovial voice. The cloak brunette from before appeared in front of Naruto, and suddenly the screaming stopped. His glasses were reflecting the red moonlight, causing it to dance in the air. "I am just a wraith, so pay attention… My techniques are not as flashy as Kurama clans, nor as terrifying as the Uchiha's… However…" that same grin, the wide inhuman one from before, suddenly spread on his face. His entire mouth seemed to have faded into an inky black colour, along with his irises. "Reality, or illusion? You decide." Images suddenly appeared in his head- unknown figures hacking at his friends, murdering them._

_An ear-splitting scream cut through the air, laced with a sadistic chuckle. "Good… Scream little boy. Scream for my wraith… Scream brat. Brat. BRAT!"_

"Oi, brat!" Naruto was awoken by a sharp tap to the head from an open text-book. He groaned groggily, and glanced up. Iruka was looming over him, a look of pure distaste on his face. "You've hardly been here for an hour and you're already asleep! Wake up, Uzumaki!"

The boy chuckled. "Erm, sorry sensei! The desks are so comfortable, you know!"

A tick appeared on Iruka's head. The whole class were observing the scene now. "Uzumaki! What was the name of the Yondaime's prized technique?"

"Hirashin." The boy instantly responded, followed by a loud yawn.

Iruka turned deadly silent. He wasn't supposed to get that- not that fast at least! "What bloodline did the Shodaime Hokage have?"

"Mokuton."

"What was the Niidaime Hokage's legendary weapon?"

"Raijin."

The scarred teacher winced slightly. Whoever this kid was- he knew his stuff! "Describe briefly the five elemental chakras!"

"Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Lightning. Each has an advantage over a different type and a disadvantage, for example wind has an advantage over lightning but a disadvantage over fire. The elements can be bonded to form sub-elements usually only accessible via a bloodline, such as the Shodai Hokage's Mokuton, which was a fusion of both water and earth." Naruto stated in one breath, still in a rather bored and tired tone.

The room was silent. Iruka didn't even speak, he just stared, jaw wide. That wasn't even on the curriculum, and this kid knew it! "Stay awake in class, Uzumaki!" the instructor shook off his confusion and returned to the lesson on the theory of assassination.

Some of the class were still staring at Naruto who had again fallen asleep. He reminded some of the Nara heir, Shikamaru, who hardly had any motivation at all! Needless to say, the eight potential legends were staring at the bored blond with a combined thought. Had a ninth prodigy appeared?

XXX

_Six Years ago…_

"Wake up, Naruto!" Naruto screamed, and then suddenly found himself back in the heavily damaged Vein-Mist, Utakata leaning over him. "Get a grip; are you a coward? Can you not tell a genjutsu when you see one?"

The blonde's eyes widened. "T-That was a genjutsu? B-But it was so real… I felt the blood, I s-saw…"

"Axel of the Thousand Faces. He was a terrorist from Earth country. My sources told me he drove a feudal lord insane with one of his Genjutsu. Specialising in fear-related illusions and more notoriously his flawless henge."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Flawless?"

"One glance is all he needs. After that he can transform into them with seal-less henge. He is easily an A-class ninja. However…" he glared at the wrecked corridors that surrounded them. "… He disappeared one day. I heard he'd died. Obviously not." He stood up and took Naruto's hand. "Come on, Naruto. Let's find the others."

He turned, expecting Naruto to follow, however the boy stayed still, his eyes wide. "A flawless henge you said?" he got to his feet and stepped back. "Not so flawless."

Utakata raised an eyebrow. "What are you mumbling about, Naruto?"

Red chakra began to swirl around the boy's fists, and his eyes turned violet. "That stupid teacher of mine…" whispered Naruto. "NEVER CALLS ME NARUTO!"

The brunette gasped, then smirked. "My, my… And I thought you were a naïve child. Turns out I was wrong…" Utakata's features began to melt. The kimono disappeared to be replaced by a black cloak with cloud-shaped markings, and his hair was suddenly tied back in a pony-tail. Glasses seemed to spawn out of thin air, resting on the bridge of his nose. "… It seems you guessed correctly. That was an illusion. It would have been much more entertaining if you'd simply played along…"

He cackled. "Such a pity, eh boya? Maybe I should have gone for something easier…" his features melted again. The chocolate hair became a rustic red, and his bosom suddenly popped out. A grinning Mei now stood before Naruto. "This one was pretty hot, I'm quite glad I caught a glimpse of her." He/she poked one of his own breasts. "Pretty big. I'm amazed she can stand up with things like these." He/she glanced over at Naruto. "After I'm done with you, I'll pay her a visit. I wonder what she'll think of your body…"

With a sickening crack, Naruto's fist slammed into 'Mei's' face, causing her/him to fly into a rocky wall. Some water from the weakened sealing seeped through and drenched Axel, who had transformed back due to shock. Naruto's body was glowing with some weird runic tattoo's, covering his face and arms. Some were even visible through his clothing, shining through his shirt and bandages. _"Seals? This kid's being taught in sealing? No…" _his eyes widened. _"This kid's just got seals used on him."_ The grin reappeared on the sadist's face. "Interesting… INTERESTING! I've gained a whole new respect for you, boya! Only six-years old too!" he whistled. "Entertain me." From the long sleeves of his cloak, two sharp V-shaped blades, attached to the wrists, became visible.

He was about to speak again when an ungodly chakra erupted from Naruto's figure, causing the walls in the cave to shake, and the water above to ripple. Axel's eyes widened, and he was forced to hold an arm over his face to shield his face from the bright red chakra surrounding Naruto's body. His jacket was shredding itself, while his shirt had completely worn away. _"Drawing the energy from inanimate objects…? Isn't that…" _"… The forbidden technique… _Onikawa _(Demon-skin). So that must mean…" he began to chuckle. "A jinchuriki. Two for the price of one."

Naruto's clothes stopped disintegrating, leaving him only in his tattered jacket and baggy torn pants. His bandages still remained. The fire-red chakra still surrounded his fists, but it seemed to have intensified, if that were even possible. "What have you done…?" he whispered. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FRIENDS?"

Axel simply smirked. "That's it! Let anger fill you, Jinchuriki! Let your anger fill you, and entertain me for a while!"

The blond began to grind his teeth together, revealing elongated canines. He got into a crouching position, the red chakra covering his whole body in a blazing cloak. "Answer me!"

With a small chuckle, the brunette stated, quite plainly. "I killed some of them. Don't worry, I'll do the rest later."

Roaring with madness, anger and pain, Naruto pounced at Axel, chakra oozing out of his body causing a long trail to appear in the ground in his wake. His fist met with one of Axel's blades in a lock, and for a moment their eyes met. Axel's face was filled with sadistic pleasure, while Naruto's was stricken with blind rage.

For a moment there was silence. Then two words broke the momentary silence. "_Awaton:_"

Axel's face fell. He glanced to the side to see a brunette wearing a tattered kimono performing a set of hand signs. "_Awatama!_" from his mouth a stream of bubbles rocketed towards Axel, the sheer force of their launch sending the Akatsuki member flying.

Naruto was shocked to say the least. For some reason, he felt unbelievably tired. The red energy quickly faded, but before he collapsed he managed to whisper, "Sensei…"

The ex-terrorist wiped some blood from his lip. It had taken all his power and chakra to repel the young jinchuriki and now the legendary bubble-demolition ninja had appeared. "I thought I'd left you with my partner…"

Instead of responding, Utakata held his pipe out, pointing it at Axel's head. "You have raised a hand to my pupil." Aqua-blue energy began to ooze off him, but unlike Naruto's fire-like appearance, it took the form of steam. "For that alone I'll kill you. And for the price of attacking my home…" the silhouette of a slug with six tendrils trailing off its back appeared behind him. "… I'll drag you down to hell."

**XXX**

**Serious block on this chapter. I had to put in some detail of what happened six years ago. After two or three chapters it will only be told in short flashbacks, symbolised by ****_italics. _****But be warned, in the next chapter and possibly the following I'll have the conclusion to Axel vs. Utakata, and possibly another fight with the mysterious Ooi. Tune in!**

**XXX kiyomos korner XXX**

**ME: YO! Wat up mah peeps! I have sent evil cookie monster clones to the IPs of all who refused to review previous chaps.(I found his evil twin but he was uncooperative)**

**Zorro: You didnt evin look!**

**ME: thats how I found him.**

**Alejandro: How can you find something your not looking for?**

**Kenpachi: cause he's a ninja! Duh.**

**Reina: Who's a ninja?**

**Everyone: THE EVIL TWIN!**

**Reina: STOP YELLING. (*o*)**

**ME: sorry.**

**Reina: Its okay kiyo-kuuuun.**

**ME: ...Why are you humping Alejandro?**

**Alejandro: Is okay. dis 'appens all time.**

**Kenpachi: it must be the combination of Russian chocolate plus raw seafood added to Alejandros tanned muscular physique that has caused her to act like a drunk whore that got high.**

**ME: What are you a shrink?**

**Kenpachi: only part time.**

**ME: Kami im surrounded by idiots!**

**Kami: only because you choose to be.**

**ME: ...I think Ill delete your part.**

**Kami: why?**

**ME: cause when you add in immortal beings that are shaping the universe it gets really complicated... almost as complicated as love.**

**Shinigami: not even close.**

**ME: Gah! what the fuck are you doing here?**

**Both: were bored.**

**ME: well then why dont get a buch of shit that should never go together and stick it inside some human, like, oh I dont know...Miley Cirus!**

**Both: we already did.**

**Kenpachi: ...thats fucked up.**

**Both: yes, yes it is.**

**Me: review or my evil clones will get you!**


	13. Two Faced Ooi

**Two-Faced Ooi**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**SOMETHING RATHER IMPORTANT: In this chapter I've defined Hinata's personality as frosty and proud, much like Hiashi, Hanabi and all other Hyuuga bar Tsukimi. If I get a mass lack of reviews, or a mass-load of complaints, I'll edit the chapter appropriately. I want to know how you guys feel- I expect at least three hundreds reviews next chapter! (I jest.)**

**XXX**

"_Doton:_" Axel leapt back, using his chakra to stick himself to a wall while he preformed a few hand-signs. "_Kami-Kouken!_" (Earth Release: Divine Guardian) the wall behind Axel suddenly erupted into jagged pillars, which rocketed towards the calm yet glaring Utakata.

"_Suiton:_" whispered Utakata, as he made a sweeping motion with his hand, before a wall of water fell from the ceiling. "_Jiame!_" (Water Release: Pity Rain)

The earth met the water at furious speeds, before both fighters were propelled back by the force of the impact. Axel was sneering again. "I never imagined we'd be so lucky. THREE jinchuriki on the premise of Kiri. THREE." He pointed at the kimono-wearing man. "You must be Utakata of the Mist- the bubble user. And the freaky boy up top is obviously Yagura of the Bloom, the flower user." He glanced at the unconscious Naruto. "And then there's your disciple. WHO is he?"

Utakata drew back, before his eyes began to glow with an ethereal blue energy. "None of your business. _Awaton: Awahou!_" he quickly brought the pipe to his lips, before propelling a gigantic bubble, which shot towards the mildly stunned Axel. A few meters before it connected, Utakata muttered faintly, "Die."

With a small popping sound, the bubble exploded violently, the soap burning Axel's skin like acid. _"What the fuck is this bubble made of…?" _the brunette mentally screamed as he was roughly slammed against a wall from the force of the explosion, only to make eye contact with Utakata who was running through more hand signs. "You fucktar-"

"_Kinjutsu- Awaton: Yamiama-Kansen!_" (Forbidden Technique- Bubble Release: Dark Bubble-Infection) he brought the pipe to his lips again, and lightly blew on its nozzle. In an instant, hundreds of tiny pink bubbles surrounded Axel. If he made one movement, one of them would be likely to pop as they remained suspended in mid-air, bobbing lightly round him.

"W-What…?" he whispered, perplexed. "What the hell are these things?"

His opponent had rushed over to Naruto and was applying a light healing technique to ease the boy's fatigue. "Those are your end, Axel of the Thousand Faces. Pop one and it's all over for you."

A vein popped in the young man's head. "D-DON'T TAKE ME LIGHTLY!" screaming in rage, he lunged forwards, the blades on his arms at their fullest length. Unknown to him, his shin lightly brushed one of the pink bubbles. In a chain reaction from that one bubble, all of the pink orbs began to simultaneously explode with the force of a standard paper-bomb. Of course, due to the sheer number of the projectiles and the combined force of the multiple explosives, this added up to at least a thousand times more effective than a simple paper-bomb. Axel fell to the ground, his body badly charred from the multiple bombs. He was barely conscious, but his eyes were fixed on Utakata.

"Oh? You're still alive?" murmured Naruto's teacher.

The answer he got was a short laugh from Axel. "Idiot. You actually thought I'd fight you head on?" Utakata's eyes widened and he spun round, to see Axel sneering. "Naïve! You chose wrong fool! This…"

"… Is an illusion." Muttered Utakata as he suddenly faded back into reality. Axel was standing right in front of him, his arm-blade stabbing into the man's chest and shoulder.

"Eye contact is all I need… Then you're sent right into my world." whispered Axel. "I'll admit, if that attack had hit me, it wouldn't have been too pleasant. But I need you alive… Now…" he growled. "Who is that brat over there?"

Utakata cast his single visible eye in Naruto's direction. "I do not know if he is a Jinchuriki, nor do I know who he really is. All I know is…" he met Axel's gaze. "He is my idiotic disciple. And I'm not going to let him see me as weak." Blue steam began to pour off of him. "I don't usually have to do this…" his eyes exploded with blue energy. "…Forgive me, master."

Axel was blown back by a sudden burst of energy from the older male. _"It can't be… No one has ever…" _he stared in shock as the slug silhouette began to grow bigger. "He's controlling his Biju…"

The walls began to burst, while the chakra charged ceiling began to push upwards, expanded by the sudden surge of chakra being pushed into it. Now, instead of a tall male, a gargantuan slug with six tendrils trailing off its back stood before Axel. "**Ah… It's been a while since I've been released. What's on the menu today, partner?**" two stalk-like eyes surveyed Axel who was drawing back, nerves suddenly taking him. "**Scrawny boy. Won't be that good for my body- not enough fat on him. However…**" a large gooey jaw with slimy stalagmite and stalactite styled teeth revealed itself on the seemingly expressionless face of the slug. "**I am not one to moan- beggars cannot be choosers.**"

"D-Don't…" whispered Axel. "D-DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! _Doton:_"

"**NAÏVE!**" with surprising speed for a hulking slug, the massive blob of flesh slammed into Axel with a very crude yet affective body-slam. "**Ninjutsu is powerful, and may even repel some Biju to an extent. But without the use of your hands, it is useless. And I'm afraid that now you've made contact with me, your hands will be less than useless.**"

Axel, upon hearing this, glanced at his hands, and sure enough, they were covered in a sticky slime substance. "W-What the fuck?"

"**That is my bubble soap slime! It is a special substance which causes a minor explosion if chakra comes into a millimetre radius of it. Therefore is you activate attempt a ninjutsu, it will backfire on you, rendering you helpless.**"

For the first time in a long while, Axel was terrified. Jinchuriki were easy targets; he'd beaten a few in the past, but never captured them. A Biju combined with its host was a different story. Jinchuriki were mere forgeries- paling in comparison to the real deal- and this WAS the real deal. The huge slug was throwing back its head and emitting a loud gurgling noise.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, and as a response, the monster threw its face forwards vomiting up long thick strands of gooey mucus. Axel easily dodged them, but what shocked him was how they suddenly hardened to steel-like strands. Then the shock really came. From the strands multiple wires shot out, connecting from strand to strand creating an invisible maze of lethal wire. Axel was trapped like a rat.

"**Unlike our silly little bubbles, this wire's the real deal. It is also slaked in my foam. Remember your chakra network? Well, I think you can do the math. A cut plus the soap will equal… Boom.**"

The young man grit his teeth, before regaining his posture, and adjusting his glasses. "I am a genjutsu master. So I appreciate that trickery makes things a little bit easier. And I am also a ninja. Codes such as 'fair play' or bushido do not matter to me. But nevertheless, I regret what I have to do…" his features began to melt. His chest expanded and his hair grew dark. Make-up suddenly covered his skin, making it go pale, and he was suddenly clothed in a kimono. Rera now stood there, trapped and injured.

"U-Utakata-sama… Help…"

For a moment, the Biju wavered, and then suddenly it began to turn transparent. Utakata's silhouette was visible under in flabby Biju's body. "**Utakata, you fool!**" roared the Rokubi. "**Can't you see this is a trick?**"

The blue skin became pale, and Utakata's features faded into view. He was reaching out, hurt and sad, his stoic features melting into a concerned frown. "H-Help…" moaned 'Rera'. A small smile appeared on her face. It then vanished when a chakra charged fist roomed straight into her jaw, causing the illusion to drop instantly as Axel went slamming into a wall, unconscious.

Naruto stood there, barely hanging onto consciousness due to his extreme fatigue of awakening his Biju. His Rougufu chakra cloak had cut through the steel strings like butter, easily allowing him to punch the illusionary Rera clean in the face. "N-Never…" whispered Naruto. "Never make me save you again, idiot-sensei!"

Utakata, still under the heavy form of his Biju, looked mildly perplexed, then he smiled warmly. His Biju disappeared completely. "I'll take your word on that, Uzumaki."

At this, Naruto laughed warmly. "Anyone here?" came a voice. From one of the tunnels a large group of people appeared. This group included Rera, Dokuri and Mei. Upon seeing Naruto, Mei leapt upon him and began squeezing him to death. "Aw! You're alright my little cutie!"

"Get off the brat, Nee-san…" muttered Dokuri as he glared at Naruto.

Rera meanwhile directly confronted Utakata. "Who is that man?" she pointed at Axel who was lying, unconscious, against the wall.

Naruto's teacher cast a glance at her. "I believe he's a member of an organisation after the Jinchuriki."

Her eyes widened. "Y-You brought him here?"

"No." his gaze turned hard. "They are after Yagura."

The raven haired lady's eyes widened. "'They'-?"

She was silenced as a hand suddenly shot through her side. Everyone in the room froze. A tall man wearing the same cloak and hat as Axel was standing there. No one had seen him enter. A large bulge was visible on his back, poking out like a second head. "Not they…" He removed his hand from Rera's chest and let her fall forwards, blood trailing from her side. The newcomer's crimson eyes shone through the tassels covering his face. "Ooi." (Bad pun- Ooi translates as 'We' and is pronounced in same way)

XXX

The graduation exam was, in a word, easy. That was all Naruto could say to describe it; ea-sy. The answers to the exam had been drilled into him during his early years with Utakata, this being their first practical use. He didn't know how memorising the birthday of Tobirama Senju was going to help him on missions, but Utakata had simply turned down his arguments with a faint _"I won't teach an idiotic pupil, Uzumaki."_

Naruto had finished the test with half and hour to spare, and thus returned to his favourite hobby of sleeping while the test continued. He found it too boring to bear. After the written test came the ninjutsu exam, which of course featured bushin, kawamiri and henge- simple jutsu at the best of times, yet deadly if used well, as Axel had proved all those years ago.

He was one of the last to take the test (They were called out alphabetically) and was thoroughly bored by the time he was called out. When asked to perform henge, he transformed into Iruka before turning back again. When asked to do kawamiri he suddenly appeared on the desk, his index finger grasped in Iruka's grip while his pen fell to the floor in the vacant space where Naruto had once stood.

But when asked to do a standard bushin, he paused. The ghost of a smile appeared on his sombre face for a fraction of a second before he preformed the necessary hand sign. "_Bushin._" He whispered. For a second, nothing happened… Then he doubled, quadrupled, octupled and so on, till a countless number of Naruto illusions stood before the shocked instructors. The real Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I could never get the hang of that technique- I guess I went overboard." He laughed merrily. "Do I pass?"

Mizuki clapped while laughing. "This is a sight to see! Haha! This has got to be top marks, eh Iruka-kun?"

Shrugging, Iruka simply noted down a number (Presumably his score) on the clipboard, then motioned to rows of the Konoha headbands. "Please select your type- headband, armband, bandana or scarf."

The blond glanced at the selection of accessories, before picking up the scarf and tying it around his neck. After attaching the material to his neck he smiled at the two instructors. "Thanks for taking care of me."

When he re-entered the classroom some of the students stared in shock. Sure, the boy had book-smarts, but he'd only been in the class three days! How in the world did he know the academy jutsu? He ignored the looks, instead making a bee-line straight for his usual seat next to Ino Yamanaka who was again ogling him like some sort of monster.

It was at least another twenty minutes before the final students had been tested and only those remaining had passed. Iruka returned to the classroom with his clipboard and sent the class a smile. "It's been a pleasure teaching most of you. All of you are unofficially branded ninja from tomorrow onwards. But before we can create the teams, we first need to examine your physical abilities." He motioned to the door. "Head outside to the survival zone and we'll begin."

It seemed that for one moment in that dreary day, Naruto would have some fun. But his hopes were quashed. It was merely target practice and light physical sparring with Mizuki. He didn't complain- he did need to keep a sharp edge if he was going to be successful, but still he found the training to be dreary. The target practice involved a choice of three weapons: shuriken, kunai or senbon. All except the latter were cheap and looked upon as fodder, while senbon, though the smallest, was one of the more deadly ninja tools.

Points were awarded out of 100, with ten weapons from one of the piles. The highest number you could obtain from one throw was 10 points from one of the vital areas, such as the neck or heart. When it was Naruto's turn, many stopped throwing their weapons and glanced, curious to see what the wildcard was about to do.

In one swift movement, Naruto had picked up three kunai before turning towards the target. Letting out a slow sigh, he then flung the projectiles.

XXX

"RERA!" roared Utakata. Throwing all caution to the winds, he rocketed forwards, his pipe held out ready to split the man in half.

"So sad…" grumbled the figure. "… Unrequited love is such a pity." He withdrew his hand and let the raven haired lady fall before grabbing Utakata's pipe and slamming him into the ground. "Such a pity."

In one swift motion he removed the hat from his head revealing a gaunt face with sickly pale skin. Pale platinum blond hair fell down to his shoulders, but revealed his skull-shaped face quite easily. With pale red eyes he surveyed the remaining ninja of Vein-Mist. "Boy…" he muttered, softly. "Surrender yourself." His voice was so weak and frail it was hard to believe he beat Utakata and Rera in the space of one minute.

Naruto stepped back slightly and flared the chakra over his arms as if to give out a warning. "And if I refuse?"

For a moment, the red gaze seemed to show a small flicker of amusement, before two of the Vein-Mist ninja screamed in pain and fell to the ground, stone dead. Naruto only had time to widen his eyes and faintly whisper, "What…?" before the blood splattered over his face and the two corpses fell to the ground.

Encircling Ooi was a ring of small rectangular shaped cards, swirling around him like a halo. "It is best… If you come quietly. It would be…" he glanced at Mei who was looking rather sick. "…Such a pity to kill all these fine humans. But then again…"

"…You aren't human, are you…?"

It wasn't a question. For some reason, Naruto felt a tug in his belly. He had a gut feeling telling him to RUN, right away. "W-What are you talking about?"

"_Kurogan._" (Black-gun) whispered Ooi, almost lazily. In a flash, specks of light flew from the card shaped objects, which began to revolve as each fleck fired. With pin-point accuracy, the small-bullets hit random ninja from the Vein-Mist, who had suddenly tried to flee from the battle. Like flies they began to drop, without the pale man even lifting a finger.

The nightmare Axel had shown Naruto was suddenly becoming a reality. Blood was flying in all directions, faces which had been kind to him over the past day, were now appearing with blank-dead eyes. "S-stop…" muttered Naruto.

"BASTARD!" yelled a bulky man who was supporting a large foresting-axe. "_NINPOU: OSHIONO!_" (Ninja Art: Pressure-Hatchet) The axe flew down through the air, ready to cleave Ooi in half, when it was suddenly stopped in its tracks. For a second, the man froze, before hundreds of thousands of bullets pierced through his body, ripping his whole form apart like mere paper.

"P-Please s-stop…"

Dokuri slid directly behind Ooi, two throwing knives clutched in each hand. "Die you insane-prick!" as a few bullets flew at him, he deftly weaved around them, before drawing right up close to the Organisation member's back. "_Shikaku-houhou…_" in a flash, be blurred in front of Ooi, who blinked in mild surprise. "_Urasoshaku!_" (Assassin's Technique: Back biter.)

Two pinhole-like marks appeared on Ooi's chest, before blood spurted out them. "Oh my." He muttered. "I seem to have been killed."

Dokuri's eyes widened. "What the-?"

A new pair of hands, distorted and mangled in form, burst from Ooi's robe and grabbed hold of Dokuri. "Nii-san!" cried Mei, in fear and alarm. The redheaded boy only had time to cry out in anger and confusion, before his body went limp and he slumped to the floor.

The arms, still embracing Dokuri's body, were connected to Ooi's side, like an extra pair. "I've ripped my robes…" he mumbled, before shedding them, revealing his true form. His body was indeed frail and his figure appeared anorexic, but attached to his back was a large wooden _creature _of such horrid form. Tiny tubes attached the monster to Ooi's back, while the small spherical head rested on Ooi's shoulder. The creature let out a short mechanical laugh.

A random female yelled out, frantically, "What the hell is he?"

Ooi raised a feathery eyebrow, then held out his arms, as though showing off his body. "I am Ooi. I am a test subject from the village hidden in the dust. And I…" he motioned at Dokuri. "Can never die. My body is charged with electrical energy from my little friend." He pointed at the small robotic monster who grunted in recognition. "Which in itself is charged from other humans. In short…" he smiled lightly. "You are all but chargers for me. It's such a pity, but… You die as an after affect."

"S-stop it…"

"DOKURI!" cried Mei, in distress. At once, her hands blurred in action as she formed hand seals. "_Futton: Komu no jutsu!"_ (Boil release: Skilled Mist technique) A scalding hot mist erupted fro her full-lips, quickly ebbing around the room. The Mist Ninja, knowing this technique, quickly retreated from its range.

Ooi merely muttered in distaste. The small robot threw Dokuri away from him before shrinking back into its metallic shell. "_Charged up to 56%! I want that girl! She's got huge tits!_"

"Language…" mumbled Ooi, before he strode forwards, move cards of light appearing before him, seemingly batting away the highly acidic attack. In a matter of moments, he was standing right before the stunned still Mei. "Pity."

"STOP IT!"

XXX

Naruto landed a final blow on the silent Mizuki, who looked on, mildly impressed. "I have to say kid, that wasn't half bad." He stepped back and gave a thumbs up to Iruka. "The kid's decent, man! He'll be a fine genin."

With a short bow, Naruto left the sparring ring and moved towards Iruka to collect his scores. As the he had practically just joined the class, he had not only gone last but had points deducted for missing all the tests throughout the year. Iruka tried to put a gloss over this though. "You scored 78 points in the weapons training and scored a full 90 in the sparring practice. That's the highest score of this year group- good job Naruto!" Said boy surveyed him with a cool blue eye. When people put a gloss over something, you just know bad news is coming up. "… But…" Naruto silently berated himself for jinxing the situation. "… I'm afraid with the sever lack of points from the other tests throughout the year, you have been pushed down to second-last place."

"_Well, that's not so bad." _Naruto mentally added. Though he would have preferred to have his real skills recognised, being cocky and carrying around a title such as 'rookie of the year' could prove more of a burden than a blessing.

Iruka turned to the rest of the class, who were watching silently. "Which means in first place- winning rookie of the year, Sasuke Uchiha. And in second, taking the place of highest kunoichi, Sakura Haruno." The tanned man sent the whole class a large beam. "I'm so proud of you all. Some of you I've known for years, others for months, and one I've only met for a few days!" he sent Naruto a playful grin. "It's been a pleasure teaching all of you. But alas, I need to pass you on to your new jonin sensei's. Like today, everyone must attend class, but upon arrival I'll announce your teams and sensei's. Congratulations."

At this, a few of the class-members let out a cheer and threw their headbands in the air in celebration. Naruto on the other hand simply turned on his heels and exited the school. He may now be an established ninja, but the medicine he needed to help Utakata would come at a price. He suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and looked up at the Hokage monument, the four stony faces glaring down at him. With his trademark feral-grin, he pointed a long index finger at the monument. "Watch out, Konoha! You've got a future-hokage on your hands now!"

XXX

"I see." Whispered the blonde man, faintly. His violet eyes softened slightly, before his gaze turned to the large window stretching out in his office. "So I'm not alone. I'm glad Uta-kun is back… But for some reason, I don't think that's why you're really here." From thin air, a long hooked stall with a large flower at its tip appeared in his hand. "I've served my purpose, ne?"

The figure opposite him said nothing, instead opting to nod.

At his silence, Yagura laughed. "Not going to go all out, huh? It makes me wonder how strong you guys are to not even back down against a kage- and a jinchuriki to boot. I've seen guys your age at the mere mention of my name. But then again, all that's because of your filthy organisation. Though before I fight, may I ask one question?" he glanced at the picture on his desk, of three children and one adult. Him, a blonde youth with a goofy grin making a V-for victory sign on one hand, Utakata, still looking as stoic as ever, with his bubble pipe grasped between his spindly fingers, and a young girl with a sweet face and long violet hair. The elder man was a short stout tanned man wearing a short-sleeved shirt and tattered jeans, but one look at him told you he was not to be messed with. That was his team- from the olden days. Yagura, Utakata and Akizu under the watchful eye of Master Cross. His gaze lingered on the photo for a moment longer, before he looked back at the figure. "Is my wife still alive?"

The figure paused, then in a gruff voice stated, "Not that it matters, but she died a number of years ago. It was a shame- you can't find healers like her anymore."

At this, Yagura suddenly grinned like a madman, the stitch under his eye giving him a slightly manic look. "I see. IN that case, I have no plan on going with you. In fact…" he swung a fist at the large window, which suddenly shattered into a million pieces. "… I think I'll destroy this whole world. Maybe then I'll see Akizu in oblivion. Maybe not." He chuckled. "Who knows.

"You are mad." Mumbled the figure, but nevertheless he drew back his sleeve, revealing a stitched arm. "I am allowed to kill you, you realise? You're seal is so weak that it will cause no harm to the Biju you have locked within you."

Yagura's only response was to thrust his staff towards the falling glass, which froze in mid-air, as though trapped in a painting. The flower on the edge of the staff began to glow. "_Benton:_" his eyes began to glitter as the glass swirled around him."…_Nakiyanagi._" (Petal Release: Weeping Willow)

From outside the Mizukage building, it looked as though a hurricane had torn the building to shreds, but any unfortunate onlookers knew the real cause. The black petals falling from the sky were enough to tell them that Yagura, their fourth Mizukage, was about to die.

**XXX**

**And… We're clear! WHEW! I thought I'd NEVER finish that chapter! I think I'll stop the flashbacks for a few chapters and I'll fill you in on Naruto's progress slowly. Maybe in three chapters I'll tell you how this arc ends… Or maybe not… Kukukuku… I am so evil.**


	14. Don't Underestimate me!

**Don't Mock Me**

**Disclaimer: If you haven't got the message yet, then you have no brain. I DON'T OWN NARUTO. If I did, then why would I be writing a fanfiction- this'd be the REAL Naruto, not some worded-copy. Point proven!**

**(Rant over- please enjoy the story!)**

**XXX**

His eyebrow twitched. Once. Then twice. Then a third time. Naruto continued to twitch his eyebrow, sending occasional glances to his new 'team-mates'. To be honest, he still thought this was a joke. The male team mate caught his gaze and narrowed his eyes. "What are you looking at, dobe?"

Yeah. Definitely had to be a joke. He'd been trained under Utakata of the Mist for six years. He'd developed a new fighting style. He'd been thrown off waterfalls, shot in the head and tossed about like a rag doll, but never before had he been subjected to 'team-bonding' as such. So here he was; sitting with the Rookie of the Year, Sasuke Uchiha, and a pink-haired girl, named Sakura Haruno, the top kunoichi in the class. He let out a long sigh. "Just thinking about karma." He mumbled, before staring out the window.

The day had indeed begun hopeful- the sun was shinning, birds were singing, and he at least had the prospect of some money coming up, but then the true reality hit him. Traditionally, teams were balanced out in order of ranking, i.e. the worst student would be paired with the best students. And as he had failed to participate in any of the upcoming exams, he was left in the former category- the dobe, as he was so justly nick-named. This didn't do well for his self esteem.

When Iruka had began to call out the teams, his ears perked up, and his hopes rose. "Team 7… Naruto Uzumaki." He looked up suddenly, causing the girl next to him to jump. "… Sakura Haruno…" he recalled how she'd had a fight with Ino over 'who'd sit next to Sasuke'. She may be the top kunoichi in the year, but she lacked the experience to fully earn that title. "… And Sasuke Uchiha."

The girl yelled something about 'Love conquers all', while Naruto merely stifled a groan. Adding an obsessor with the obsessee is a formula for complete disaster, and he really didn't want to be a catalyst in that reaction (No chemistry pun intended)

"Sir!" the blonde called out. Iruka looked up, midway through team 8, and nodded for Naruto's question. "Can I change teams?"

"Don't be rude Naruto- it's tradition for the dead-last student to be paired with the rookie of the year and other top ninja."

And it all went downhill from there. He didn't mind Sakura yelling at him for being rude, or her attempt to punch him. He didn't care about Sasuke's occasional glares or egoistic grunts. But what drove him REALLY ballistic was the fact he and his team had been sitting in the class for over two hours waiting for a one Kakashi Hatake to show up. Being late was fatal- he had the scars to prove it! Doing a lap was one thing, but doing it over a lake while being chased by a pipe-wielding sociopath was another.

"_Patience is a virtue? Don't be so predictable. Patience is the first step to disorder and chaos- if you're going to do something, do it while the iron is hot, don't wait for it to cool of its own accord. Oh, and if you're late again… I'll crucify you…" _What words of wisdom his master had!

For a moment, he considered examining his contract yet again, but then pushed the thought from his mind. He didn't like bringing the topic of his scroll up. The only reason he carried it around with him was it felt… good when it was near him. He knew he wasn't ready to sign it, but just having it by him was enough so far.

XXX

"So this is the bunch of brat's I'll be looking after…?" Kakashi mused as he looked into the Hokage's crystal-orb. "They don't look special."

"Be under no illusion, Kakashi-kun. These will certainly be interesting genin." Wheezed the elderly Hokage. "Sasuke Uchiha, heir to the great clan of Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, a sponge for knowledge with great control over her chakra… And Naruto." He gaze lingered on the boy, whose face was now magnified in the orb. A sombre expression was on the boy's face, his one working eye staring down at his bandaged knuckles which he was massaging tenderly.

The grey-haired jonin cast a glance at his Hokage. "What' so special about him, Ero-jiji?"

A loud bark of laughter rand out from the old man. "Just like your sensei! Very dry humour. However I find your question rather problematic; what ISN'T special about this boy?" he chuckled darkly. "He only joined the academy three days ago. He's been missing from the village for six years, training under Utakata of the Mist, who seems to have fallen into a comatose state." He glanced at Kakashi, who kept up his emotionless façade. "I've lost this boy for six years. And now I want to find him. For that I need your help, Kakashi."

With a slight shrug, Kakashi walked towards the door. "I'll do my best. But they still have to take my test." As soon as he exited the room he disappeared via shuishin.

XXX

After two and a half painstaking hours, the classroom door finally opened and a grey haired man wearing a face-mask over his mouth and nose, and a Konoha headband covering one of his eyes, walked into the class. He regarded them impassively, before stating, quite seriously, "First impression? I don't like you."

"YOU'RE LATE!" yelled Sakura, after his small statement.

"Well done Little-Miss Obvious." He turned around and exited again. "Meet me on the roof." With that he vanished.

In five minutes the three genin were assembled on the roof, their lazy sensei sitting opposite, regarding them critically. "As you know, I'm now your teacher, until you've either graduated to a higher rank or you get demoted. Or you die, of course." He clasped his hands. "So, let's get to know each other, eh? Tell me your names, likes, dislikes and dreams."

Sakura raised her hand quickly. "Um, sensei, could you give us an example?"

Kakashi's expression stayed the exact same. "Very well. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have a lot of likes, and a lot of dislikes. My dreams… I've got a few."

"_He only told us his name…"_ all three genin thought mentally.

"You next, pinky."

The girl huffed at the belittling nickname, but instantly regained her posture. "Well, I'm Sakura Haruno. I like…" she glanced at Sasuke and giggled. "I hate Ino-pig! And my dreams… Well…" she glanced at Sasuke again and giggled.

A soft sigh from Kakashi sharply shut her up. "You next, emo-boy."

Sasuke glared as well, but maintained a more relaxed and withdrawn position. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have nearly no likes, and a whole lot of dislikes. But I do have a dream, or more of an ambition… I want to kill a certain man, and rebuild my clan."

Silence followed his rather serious statement. "You're up, Blondie." It was Kakashi who broke the silence, his one eye now fixed on Naruto, who unlike his team mates did not rise at all to the insult.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like my master and those who have become my friends over the passing years. I dislike those who fight without a purpose, and those who use others to further a selfish gain. And my dream?" he looked up, his blue eye sparkling, a grin plastered on his face. "… Not telling!"

"So that clears that up…" muttered Kakashi, in a lazy tone. "So I've got a fangirl, a brooder… And I don't even know what you are, Blondie. Go figure." He turned his back on them and waved slightly. "Come to training ground 29 tomorrow at 10. Oh, and don't eat breakfast." He sent them an evil one-eyed glare. "I wouldn't want you throwing up…" a sharp wind picked up around him before he suddenly vanished in a swirl of leaves.

As soon as the grey-haired jonin vanished, Sasuke got to his feet and began to walk towards the staircase. "S-Sasuke-kun? Where are you going?" moaned Sakura, directing the comment at her crush.

For a moment, Sasuke stopped, then looked back towards his two new team mates, the longing Sakura and the mildly amused Naruto. His gaze seemed to linger on the blonde for a moment longer however. "You," He stated, "Don't get in my way tomorrow."

Like before, Naruto didn't react except by sending the raven haired youth a flippant grin. "Oh? I thought we were team mates now, doesn't that mean co-operation? Last I checked, this was a three man cell, not a one man +2." He too got to his feet. "I myself have very little experience with team work, so this'll be good training for me." He sent a one-eyed glare in Sasuke's direction, for the first time showing a frigid emotion. "Don't make dry threats." Then, like his teacher, he disappeared, this time in a haze of white light.

Snorting in indignation, Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued his trek towards the stairs, leaving a bewildered Sakura in his wake.

XXX

Heaving out a sigh of relief, the blonde lay back on his stool and patted his belly. "I've missed that taste. Four months- four long, hard, cold months… Without ramen!" he slumped on the counter. "I'll never leave it that long again. Another bowl, Oji-san!"

"It's Teuchi-ji to you, kid!" snapped the elderly chef, but a warm grin was on his face. He'd not had such an eager customer in a long time. "Ayame- another batch of noodles!"

A brunette emerged from the back of the ramen-stall and nodded enthusiastically. "Coming up, daddy!"

With a hearty laugh, Naruto sat eagerly awaiting his next meal. He was so engrossed, he didn't notice a tall raven haired girl stalk up behind him, one fist raised. Then, suddenly, the fist crashed onto his head. "Ouch! Hey, what was that for?" he turned round to see a glaring Funu Uchiha, cradling her arm lovingly while not breaking eye-contact with the boy. A tick mark was emblazoned on her head as she glared daggers. "That was for humiliating me in the Market the other day, brat!"

"Why does everyone take age so seriously…?" mumbled Naruto while he massaged his bruised scalp. "I'm old enough to kill, yet not old enough to voice an opinion? I'll never understand politics, no matter how much Master teaches me…" he was cut off when she ground her fist into his head again.

"Quiet you obnoxious brat!" she tossed some coins onto the counter. "That should cover his meal." Lashing out with one hand, she grabbed his collar and pulled him off the stool. "You're buying me dinner to make up for the humiliation!"

"WHAT? Where the hell did that come from, you crazy lady!"

Funu elbowed him with her free arm. "You're taking me to dinner, and that's final!" at first, he tried to struggle, but then a sharp blow to the head knocked him out cold allowing him to be dragged through the streets by a crimson-faced Funu Uchiha.

XXX

Approximately two hours after the arranged time to meet in training ground 29, the silver haired jonin appeared reading a small orange book titled 'Icha Icha Paradise!'. As he came into range with the trio of genin, he observed each of them in turn. Sasuke was sitting cross-legged under one of the oak trees, Sakura beside him gushing about her appearance. Naruto on the other hand was sleeping soundly, looking at peace, but extremely drained.

"Yo!" muttered the teacher in a lax tone.

"LATE AGAIN!" bellowed Sakura, pointing accusingly at her teacher.

Awoken by Sakura's shouts, Naruto sat up and yelled, "2000 ryo in one night!" He blinked, then observed the setting and the three other ninja staring at him, before blushing in an embarrassed way. "Sorry… I had a run in with a demon last night and I can't get it out of my head." He thought of his poor little frog wallet, practically raped of its insides.

"Sorry about being late, I got lost on the road of life…" the teacher sighed wistfully. "Right, I trust you guys are ready to take my test?"

Sakura cocked her head. "Test? But sensei- we already passed the genin exam."

Kakashi shrugged. "That's to weed out the hopeless. The real test is with your teacher. Let me tell you an interesting fact- out of the thirty that passed, only nine actually make it to genin level. It's tough, but that's a fact." He folded his arms and entered 'lecture mode'. "Ninja, even those participating in low-rank missions, have a chance of death. To prevent high amounts of casualties, we test the pupils and find the most hopeful. But Konoha's average has decreased over the years, so the golden number is usually nine." He sent the confused team an eye-smile. "My test is simple enough." From his pocket he pulled out two bells, held on leather straps. "Steal one bell from me, and you pass. Easy, right?"

The pinkette raised her hand. "But sensei, there are only two bells and three of us. How are we supposed to pass?"

Shrugging, Kakashi simply laughed. "Only two of you get to be on my team. The one who doesn't get the bell will be sent right back to the academy." Tension grew between the genin, with Sakura instantly glaring at Naruto, and Sasuke glaring at Sakura, while Naruto just sent them both wary glances.

"_If faced in a one-win situation, your companions are likely to be your worst enemies. Even if you share a common goal, team-mates always face the threat of betrayal, be it through fraternising with the enemy or attacking you to further their own gain. In any case…" _Naruto smirked slightly, remembering his teacher's words. _"… Group all friends as potential enemies."_

Naruto's response had been to laugh, before calling his sensei a pessimist and an idiot. The Utakata made the confession that he had been betrayed numerous times, by those of Bloody and Vein Mist, who had sold him out for various mortal trinkets- money, fame, women, life even, before he broke free of whatever prison he'd been held in and gutted all those who dared misuse his trust. He quickly warned Naruto not to 'gut' too many team-mates, or he'd end up with more enemies than allies.

"I'll give you three hours to get the bells off me. If none of you get the bells- well…" he held up three lunch-boxes. "I guess you'll fail and go without lunch." Chuckling darkly, he motioned to three wooden-stumps behind him, each one with a length of rope coiled bellow it. "Cheating will result in the humiliation of being tied to the post. Oh, before I forget- come at me with intent to kill."

Sakura gasped. "B-But sensei, we might hurt you!"

Grinning under his mask, the copy-nin just ignored the comment and took a few steps back. "To make the deal even sweeter, how about I give you a five-second head start? Are you ready?" the three genin were suddenly tensed. "Begin." In a flash, Sasuke and Sakura disappeared into the bushes. Naruto however disappeared, only to reappear in front of Kakashi, slamming a hard punch into the teacher's gullet, taking him by surprise. "Fast." He muttered, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Without changing his expression, Naruto simply wiped the dust of his bandaged fist and surveyed the area around him. "Five second head-start my ass." Sighing to himself, his one eye swivelled around the field. "Should be in close proximity. Left? Right? Above?" a hand shot out the ground and coiled around Naruto's leg. "Bellow- clever."

Suddenly, Naruto was wrenched underground, neither head nor tail of him visible. After a short spurt of earth shot up from the ground, Kakashi appeared not five meters away, rubbing his chin. "Man… Kids are getting harder to fight these days." Three kunai flew from the trees suddenly impaling a log where Kakashi had once stood. "… Just kidding." Muttered the silver-haired jonin, still in the middle of the open field, unfazed by the 'surprise' attack.

"_Katon:_" Kakashi glanced to his side, only to see Sasuke running towards him, blazing through hand signs. "_Goukakyuu no Jutsu!_" with a deep breath, he exhaled a great orb of blazing heat, which Kakashi only avoided by diving back under the earth. "It's impressive a kid like you knows a high-ranked fire ninjutsu." Stated Kakashi, as he suddenly appeared behind Sasuke. "I guess I shouldn't underestimate you, last-Uchiha."

Sasuke was unperturbed, glancing back at the jonin with cold onyx-eyes. "I'm not like the other two. I take my fights seriously, and unlike that idiot I won't be beaten so quickly."

"Oh?" Kakashi chuckled darkly. "I guess you are worse than trash after all."

With a roar of rage, Sasuke spun round before delivering a set number of blows upon Kakashi, who easily blocked them with his superior reflexes. "Lesson 1: Taijutsu. The ninja's bread and butter, even weak-guys know this. But for it to be used properly…" he stopped Sasuke's onslaught by thrusting a single gloved finger onto the boy's forehead, stunning him still. "… It requires deadly accuracy and power."

_**BOOM!**_

Kakashi's attention diverted from Sasuke as a minor explosion came from where Naruto lay buried. A small-geyser was erupting from the ground, hollowing out a large hole, before a bandaged hand shot up and pulled its body up. Naruto, covered and dirt and sodden from the water he'd used, was glaring daggers at Kakashi. On one of his fingers, a small metal ring crumbled to dust. "Taijustu, huh?" muttered Naruto, with a grin. "That's your lesson one? Master would kill himself before teaching me that first." Again displaying inhuman speed, Naruto dashed forwards, before using Sasuke's shoulders to vault over both the boy and the shocked jonin. "The real first lesson should be subtlety."

A fist erupted from bellow, a clone of Naruto suddenly exploding from the ground, slamming its fist into Kakashi's chin sending him stumbling backwards. Choosing this moment to finally act, Sakura hesitantly threw a set of shuriken from her hiding place, hoping to impale Kakashi, or at least injure him.

The still airborne-Naruto saw the metal and nearly choked. "Idiot-!" The jonin instantly used kawamiri, followed by shuisin to swap his body with the clone-Naruto and teleport away. In that brief period of time, Naruto's clone was instantly impaled with sharp shuriken, before exploding in a wave of… Bubbles?

The real Naruto shuddered. "Aww man… That technique uses a whole lot of chakra too." Shrugging to himself, he placed his right hand in a single seal. With his free hand he removed a silver ring from his pocket and placed it on his middle-finger. "_Awaton:_" From his hiding place, Kakashi's eye widened to its fullest. "_Awabushin!_" Three more Naruto's simultaneously burst into existence, each grinning threateningly.

Sasuke was rooted to the spot, staring at his team mate with wide eyes. _"A kekkai-genkai element? But that's impossible…!"_ he was brought out of his daze by Naruto offering him a hand.

"D'ya wanna work together on this? Two heads are better than one if you know what I mean." He smiled, before his hand was slapped away by Sasuke, who was staring at him in mild disgust.

Taking a few steps back, the boy glared daggers at his blonde team mate. "Don't give me your pity! I fight alone."

A high-pitch scream, undoubtedly belonging to Sakura, rang through the air piquing both the boy's attention. "We will talk about this later." grunted Naruto, before dashing off in the direction of the scream "You guy's take care of the bell's!" A short 'Aye' from his clones allowed him to go at full speed towards the direction of the scream. Sure enough, it was Sakura who had cried, although when he found the girl her eyes were blank and soulless. Clicking his tongue in disappointment, he knelt down in front of her and gave her a sharp tap on the head, waking her out of her stupor.

"H-Huh? What?" the girl was obviously perplexed. "What happened to Sasuke? H-He was dying…"

"It was a genjutsu." Naruto stated, quite calmly. "He had you placed in a low-rank genjutsu, easy enough to detect but quite hard to shrug off by yourself." He smiled kindly. "Tough luck, I suppose."

Blinking stupidly, the girl cocked her head. "W-why did you help me? Surely you should use this to your advantage, I mean, having one team mate out makes it easier right?"

Raising a feathery eyebrow, Naruto shook his head. "Not right at all. I'd rather play on a team than fight a jonin alone. Of course…" he scratched his head slightly. "Maybe if I used Rougufu…? No- subtlety, I forget! I should just stick to Master's techniques…" with those words, he drew three more silver rings from a pouch on his leg and placed two more on his already ringed hand, and one on his free-hand's pinkie-finger. "That should do." He grinned at the perplexed Sakura. "So what do you say, team mates?" Like before with Sasuke, he held out his hand to shake. But unlike Sasuke, Sakura nervously took his hand and shook it.

"Awesome!" cried Naruto. "Right- a plan, we need a plan… Let me see…" Sounds of metal meeting metal and flames roaring could be heard, no doubt from Sasuke's attempts to steal the bell's single-handedly. Memories suddenly flooded into Naruto's head, as his three bubble-clones were eliminated by Sasuke's Goykakyuu and Kakashi's sharp taijutsu skills. "How about you be a sniper for me- keep me covered from a hiding place?"

Sakura blinked. "A sniper? I've never heard of that."

With a laugh, Naruto began to explain, "Sniper's fire at opponents from a great distance, usually with bows or other miscellaneous ranged equipment. If you keep Kakashi marked with kunai and shuriken, aimed properly this time, we may be able to hold him down long enough to grab the bells!"

Meanwhile Sasuke was fighting a losing battle with his potential sensei, his blows slowly but surely becoming duller and slower. He'd used two more Gokakyuu before he'd realised that chakra exhaustion was catching up to him. He guessed he had around five minutes before he fell to the ground from exhaustion. That is, if Kakashi didn't kill him before then. When he'd taken out two of Naruto's clones with a Gokakyuu, his teacher had gone into a steely silence, and had taken to glaring at Sasuke with cold indifference throughout the fight. It infuriated him!

The pointless onslaught continued for about a minute, before Kakashi stepped back and folded his arms. "It's over Sasuke. You're nearly out of chakra."

"Shut up!" yelled Sasuke, again diving forward to slug his teacher, abandoning all technique and reason.

"_Awaton:_" Kakashi glanced to the side to se Naruto standing parallel to him, throwing his head back before spitting out one word, "_Awatama!_" Crystal-clear bubbles slammed into Kakashi's side, with not much offensive power, but enough to startle him while Sasuke, rather perplexed, successfully punched him on the cheek. It didn't faze him.

"Well, at least you landed a hit." He murmured. Then something flashed and his eyes widened. The bells had been sliced off his belt, and were now lying on the ground. Sakura, against all odds, had managed to sever the cord tying the bells to his belt, letting them fall.

Naruto had blurred in front of him, grinning flippantly. His fist was coated in a strange red chakra which had the silver-haired man sweating. Whatever it was, he didn't fancy coming into contact with it. "Juken can be used to kill." Whispered the blonde. "But my style… Is used to break. _Rougufu:_" while swinging his fist forwards, chakra seemed to flare around it, widening and panning out so it turned into a disk like shape in front of his fist. "_Ginhei!_" (Rough Fist: Silver Wall) Before Kakashi could even blink, the large shield-like disk shunted him aside like a rag-doll, while Naruto used his free-hand to bend down and scoop up the bells. "That'll teach ya…" he whispered, so only Kakashi, who was still standing even after being shunted aside with heavy force. "… Don't underestimate Naruto Uzumaki!"

**XXX**

**I confess, I didn't really like this chapter much. I got confused and realised my first few story chapters actually are much better than the quality I'm producing right now… Ah well. (If I get a number of complaints, I'll redo the chapter. Please PM me and if I get more than 10 I'll redo it!) Also, before you scream "Hey, Naruto's not Utakata so he can't use Awaton- de gozaru" I have an explanation behind it which I will explain **_**in due course.**_

**Also I'll be in Belgium on a History trip from the 7****th**** to the 12****th**** of October, so don't expect any updates before then. It is very educational- we're doing WWI right now, so the battlefields will be a great inspiration. I may even be able to right a decent war scene at some point in this story, not just a flimsy 1-on-1 fight… Well, Hangman1 out.**


	15. A Rusty Instrument

**A Rusty Instrument**

**It's me again! I'm bac****k and badder than ever with my hardcore imagination pumped with inspiration! Time for the next instalment- but now a word from our sponsor… Just kidding.**

**XXX**

An eternity passed as Kakashi simply stared, dumbstruck. This was unthinkable, unfathomable! No one, not even his team, had ever passed the bell test first try! And here was some blonde enigma who he completely took for granted. The boy was standing, jingling the bells about in a bandaged hand, his eye never leaving Kakashi, a foxy-grin plastered on his face. "That was easier than expected." He stated, flippantly. "But I suppose you didn't see that coming did you?"

No words left Kakashi's mouth, he simply stared. Even Sasuke was shocked at what had just taken place- Sakura, his fan-girl #1 had just completed a strategic manoeuvre that even _he_ had not expected! Now she emerged from the trees, smiling giddily and glancing at him in an embarrassed manner. "Did you see, Sasuke-kun?"

Glancing back at her with a cool blue gaze, Naruto threw a bell at her, which she caught. "Thanks for your help- I honestly suck with weapons. Couldn't have done it without you!" his gaze returned to Kakashi. "Impressed yet or do I need to breathe fire to get a pass?" Sasuke didn't miss the jab.

Kakashi finally found his voice. "Actually you've done more than enough to pass, Naruto. But its dilemma time I'm afraid. You have two choices." From his sleeve, he flicked a kunai and pointed it at Sasuke who blinked in mild surprise. "Sacrifice yourself to save Sasuke, or run and let him live?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. His eye had lost all warmth however, and instead of its usual blue it glowed a faint violet.

"Not going to choose, huh?" said Kakashi. "Well, how about you Sakura?" he pointed the kunai at Naruto this time. "Kill Naruto or I kill Sasuke." At this, the pinkette tensed- torn between her crush and the boy who had just been so kind to her. In a blur of movement, Naruto appeared in front of Kakashi, his hand grasped around the kunai, using the momentum from the sudden stop to send his leg flying in a kick towards his teacher's head.

Mildly shocked by the action, Kakashi held up his arm to block. Naruto still said nothing, his eye cool and calculating. After a few seconds of no movement, Naruto muttered, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "In this situation I'd simply kill the perpetrator before he can even think of such a thing. In the unlikely event I am put in such a dilemma I won't simply run as my team mate is killed. Like I said before- don't underestimate me." He stepped back, then glanced at Sasuke, before tossing the bell at him. "Guild's pay less, but I suppose they'll have to do for now…" he turned around and began to walk away, bandaged hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. Suddenly, a vice-like grip grabbed him by the shoulder.

The grey haired teacher was glaring down at him with cold fury in his single eye. "I've never, I repeat _never_ had a mere genin speak to me with such insolence. If you are so naïve to believe that I'll let you go after that you are sorely wrong, boy! You…" All the genin suddenly tensed as the evil aura around the teacher suddenly vanished, replaced by a calm one. Kakashi was eye-smiling at Naruto. "… Pass."

"… Eh?" He had _not _expected that!

"Not only did you have the spine to stand up against me, a jonin, but you also abandoned your own well-being for the sake of a team mate. You were even willing to give up your own place on the team for some one else. That, to me…" he grinned under his mask. "… Is clear ninja-quality. A friend of mine once said 'Those who abandon the rules are trash. But those who abandon team mates are worse than trash.'" Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, who was staring at his sensei, dumbstruck. "Hopefully these guys will rub off on you Sasuke."

His attitude suddenly returned, the boy simply let out a, "Hmph."

"Now everyone- since you're my new genin team, I suppose we'll have to start team bonding, huh? How about we do some missions tomorrow, and if you do good we can work on formations." He looked at the three posts were the failed genin were usually tied. "Meet me here tomorrow at 7, sharp. We can do a little bonding on the way to the Hokage's office. Ja ne." he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

XXX

"Team five ain't gonna be out of hospital for a week. At least. Seriously, they began attacking each other when I said whoever could land a hit on me first would be on my team…" Hayate paused to cough. "… They failed, obviously."

"Ditto for team six- none of them could break out of the genjutsu I placed them under, it was kinda pathetic."

Sighing wistfully, the Hokage turned his gaze to Kakashi who was busy reading his porn and not paying attention. "Kakashi Hatake?"

Jumping at being addressed, the silver haired man glanced at the elderly Hokage. "Huh? Oh yeah, my guys passed." Suddenly, every eye in the room turned to Kakashi, who in all his history as a jonin sensei had never passed a single team. Noticing the sudden silence, Kakashi looked at his fellow jonin perplexed. "What? Is it really that shocking I passed them?"

Chuckling, the Sandaime met Kakashi's gaze. "So Naruto surprised you, eh? Tell me, did he give any insight into what he went through during those six years?"

"He displayed high speed and low-jonin strength, but he was too reckless in his moves, that some might say his skills have a dull-edge… He was quite adept with ninjutsu though…" Shrugging, Kakashi muttered under his breath, "He also used a Bi-element."

"A bi-element?" cut in Kurenai. "But that boy just joined the academy three days ago, not only that he was dead-last in the class, I saw the records! Even if he did have one, how could he utilise it?"

Hizuren barked out with laughter. "You have obviously not seen the man behind the mask, Yuuhi-san. Naruto in fact scored highest in the class, only being demoted to last due to his 'lack' of attendance over the past year." His attention returned to Kakashi, his face suddenly serious. "A Bi-element, you say? What kind?"

"He utilised Bubble-release." Stated Kakashi, causing some jonin to snigger at the seemingly harmless element. "He cloned himself and used a breath-attack featuring it- but it wasn't too surprising considering who his teacher was… But one thing is bothering me…" he snapped his book shut. "Utakata of the mist gained Awaton from his Biju, the Rokubi, so why in god's name does Naruto have it?"

XXX

A month, for a fresh genin, is one of the longest periods of your life, filled with not only pain, but also hardship and suffering. D-ranked missions are not only degrading, but an insult to the skills shinobi have learned. The last guild D-rank Naruto had done was years ago, and even then it involved huge piranhas. Needless to say, Utakata gave him no leeway, even on solo-missions.

When Team 7 wasn't chasing after Tora the cat, they were painting a garden fence, and when they weren't painting a garden fence, they were cutting the grass of some council-member's garden. Come to think of it, degrading seemed like an understatement.

And as for the money count… Nsaruto stared at the empty frog-shaped wallet in his hands and groaned. D-ranked missions were VERY low-paid. Considering the difference between D and C ranked missions, it was a wonder that they were considered 'missions' at all! As the team entered the Hokage's office, thjey were greeted by the Hokage, Iruka and some jonin with a large muffler over his mouth and nose. "Ah, Team 7." Said Sarutobi, with a smile. He glanced down at the cat that Sasuke was carrying, and grinned. "You found Tora I see. Well, if you want to give him to Chirumaru here, I'm sure he'll return Tora to his loving owner."

The jonin shuddered, muttering 'troublesome' under his breath, before taking the cat from Sasuke and disappearing.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's see what we have waiting in the wing's…" the Hokage began to shuffle through some papers. "Hmm… A Mr. Sora wants his house painted, and his wife wants their dogs taken out for a walk. I'm sure you could choose either…"

"No freakin' way!" yelled Naruto, finally losing his cool. He thrust out the empty frog-wallet so it was inches from the Hokage's face. "See this? This, my poor Gama-chan, has gone without able sustenance for a whole month! Its cruelty I tell you! I demand a better mission!"

"Naruto, you can't talk to the Hokage like that!" snapped Sakura, though she mentally agreed with him.

Iruka cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Uzumaki-san. But fresh genin are traditionally made to do D-ranked missions until they've settled in to ninja life. C-ranked missions are then taken up-"

"I get that…" interrupted Naruto. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm demanding a better mission!"

Chuckling wistfully, the elderly Hokage shuffled through some more papers. "Very well. Let me see, what do we have here…? Ah!" he pulled out two pieces of paper, and then looked between them, before putting one down. "We have a courier mission to the Diamond village on the borders of fire country and water country, near Takigakaru. They want this…" he showed them a small rusted ocarina, "Given to them. All expenses were paid months ago, but they never sent anyone to pick it up." He grinned at them. "Think you're up to it?"

Even Sasuke couldn't keep the grin from his face at the prospect of a better mission than the D-rank's. "Awesome!" stated Naruto, with a flippant grin. He was sure he'd been to the Diamond village before, but couldn't place when…

At that moment, a second team entered the room, lead by a raven haired jonin with crimson red eyes and violet eye-shadow. Following her were three genin, previous classmates of team 7, Shino Aburame, the stoic genius, Kiba Inuzuka, the brash powerhouse and Hinata Hyuuga, the frosty princess. Kiba sneered when he saw Team 7. "Alright, losers? How are you guys fairing, been dropped into the academy yet?"

"Shut up, runt." Retorted Sasuke in a neutral tone which angered the Inuzuka even more. Kakashi meanwhile had collected the metal instrument and held it up towards the window light, eyeing it carefully. Nodding as though confirming something, he turned and motioned for Team 7 to follow him.

As they walked out, Naruto was suddenly blocked by the navy-haired Hyuuga, who cast a critical eye over him. "You are Naruto Uzumaki, correct?" After he nodded, she simply returned to the ranks of her team, a slight grin on her face, not sweet, but almost self-satisfied, so out-of-place on her features that the blonde could not place it. Shrugging, he followed his team, not staying to hear that Team 8, after a complaint about D-ranks from Kiba, received a mission to Wave country with an alcoholic bridge builder.

XXX

"Do any of you guys play instruments?" asked Kakashi, nonchalantly as the guards at Konoha's gate's checked their passport's before allowing them to leave the village. Ever since the cloud incident six years ago, gate security had been doubled. At the unanimous shake of heads from Team 7, he held up the ocarina. "This is a rather uncommon instrument called an ocarina, from the woodwind family, known to produce a 'haunting' melody. To be fair, I've only seen a few in my time, but do you know what's special about this one?"

Sakura raised her hand instantly, the nostalgia of being in-the-know like in the academy returning to her. "It's a ninja-weapon sensei. You can tell because of the worn seals around the rim and the fact it's worn from use!"

Sending her an eye-smile, Kakashi nodded. "Very good. But I was looking for something a bit more simplistic. Naruto?"

The blond shrugged, then stated, quite simply, "It's old."

Laughing, Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Most instrument's…" he collected the paper from the sentries and led them out the village at a leisurely pace. "…Require replacing after a few years. And this one has been kept for a long time, as you can see, which means it must have some value. Like Sakura says, it must be a weapon because of the seals and the obvious ware. Also, due to the type of seals, we can tell its origin must come from a foreign country, must likely the dust village from the symbol on top of it."

"The technological state of the elemental countries…" mumbled Naruto, under his breath. The faint image of a platinum haired man with a metal hulk sticking out his back remained in his mind, haunting his memories like an ethereal shadow.

"So, just by looking at this instrument, I've gained a brief overview of its past and present. Can anyone tell me what I'd call that?"

Sasuke instantly answered, "Underneath the underneath. Right?"

Grinning under his mask, Kakashi nodded. "That's right. Just like the bell test, there is a hidden meaning under a simple thing. For example, this rusted ocarina; a weapon from a foreign land. More than a third of missions that chunin and jonin take are recon missions- gathering info. Usually, rich merchants or lords get ninja for recon then hire samurai for the muscle- cheaper labour you see?" From his leg-pouch he pulled a wrap of gauze, which he wrapped around the small instrument before slipping it into the pouch. "Right, I'd say we can pick up the pace now. Team 7… Let's go!"

XXX

A mist descended over the group of genin, who were by this point scared out of their wits. "Guard the client!" barked Kurenai, causing all of Team 8 to bounce into position in front of Tazuna who was shaking in fear. The mist was steadily getting thicker, and a thick laughter was drifting through the air. With hindsight, Kurenai realised continuing the mission was an idiotic thing to do, all because Kiba had yelled something about 'putting Sasuke in his place' and because she wanted to gloat to Kakashi that her Team had completed a high ranked mission. She was a rookie jonin, no one could blame her! But this…

"Aw… I think you scared them, Buza-sempai!" a jovial voice called. Kurenai's eyes widened. It was _them _again. A tall man, aged no less than 19, holding a fishing rod over one shoulder, a bucket hat dropped lazily on his head, allowing only a few strands of dirty blonde hair to escape from the hat. Beside him was a slightly shorter man with shaggy rose coloured hair. Unlike his partner, who was dressed like it was summer despite the heat, this man wore a long black cloak, and had a slight look of distaste on his face. Strapped around his shoulders was a sitar, the huge plectrum, shaped like a skull, grasped in his hand. Both men had huge scrolls with brass casings strapped to their backs'.

From the mist, a grey-skinned man wearing only hakama pants and bandages around his face and torso appeared, the huge kubikiri zanbatou held with one arm. Like a silent spectre, he appeared behind Tazuna, and was about to decapitate the man if Kurenai had not noticed and held the huge blade off with a kunai. Cackling in mirth, Zabuza easily shunted her back, breaking the kunai with ease and sending the rookie jonin to the ground. "Nice try, bitch. But a little metal toy can't stand against a demon."

"Ooh… Scary, sempai." Came the voice of the tall, lightly dressed fisherman. A wide grin was present on his face, sadism laced within his features. "And here I thought you were a pacifist. My mistake." As his gaze turned to the three genin his eyes widened and he licked his lips unconsciously. "Fresh meat, eh? I just love guppies the most…" he swung the fishing rod down, then began to laugh. "Sorry kids, but you ain't gonna see the end of this day."

Wincing, Kurenai quickly cast her strongest genjutsu. "_Mugen: Rinjianiki!_" (Illusion: Temporary Fate) As soon as the words left her lips, she ran towards the genin and her client, and motioned for them to follow her quickly. The technique was so simple, yet brilliant in escape. It froze the opponents awareness for a minute- at most, and allowed the user to escape with ample time. "Take us to your village. Now." Snapped Kurenai. She picked up the bridge builder and held him on her back, before telling the three genin to follow her without any questions. Even she couldn't handle that. It was impossible. Three A-ranked missing nin, one of them being Zabuza, Demon of the Mist, another being the infamous assassin, Guujin the fisherman. The other ninja she had no idea about, but the way he hung back made her feel like he was a support character or a healer… Or something far worse?

She didn't know what to think. After Shino had thrown a kunai at the snow rabbit, everything had gone pear-shaped- Zabuza's appearance, the sadistic fisherman and that sitar wielding rosette. A messenger pidgeon to Konoha was urgently needed. As soon as she reached wave country, that would be the first thing to do…

But unknown to Kurenai a fourth figure emerged from the trees and stared solemnly after the retreating team. He couldn't bring himself to kill them. The poor old man, the frightened children… He just couldn't. "Zabuza-sama will be angry with me…" murmured the boy and he stared at his grey-skinned master, who was slowly returning to reality.

XXX

_From the fog, a single figure emerged. His face shrouded in shadows, his eyes, cold and soulless, with a rippled iris, surveyed the gully-built village. It was a pity, but it probably wouldn't exist to see the next day. Keeping a slow pace, he strode forwards, and let several thoughts come to mind. Axel, long since abandoning the organisation, had been replaced by Itachi Uchiha, the infamous clan-killer and genjutsu prodigy, a far more favourable candidate to wear the red-clouds than the hot-headed Axel._

_As for Ooi, who was still being held in the base, Hidan had become a far better replacement. Unlike the depressing and simultaneously annoying Ooi, Hidan was simply annoying full stop, and as an added bonus, was a literal immortal, thanks to the blessings of one of his pagan arts. Of course, Ooi still served his uses. 'Tobi' had been very interested in probing the chakra-technology which was harboured inside the albino's body._

_At this point, he had reached the gates, tall and huge, fashioned from a well made bronze. Placing one had on the cold metal, he muttered two words, which rang into the night. "__**Shinra Tensei**__."_

_In one instant, a third of the village of diamond was sent to oblivion._

**XXX**

**Alright, I'm done! I was a bit worried about this chapter but I believe it turned out ****ok****, but not brilliant. Anyway, as you can see I've decided to thicken the plot and confuse a whole lot of people by adding in two new characters… With scroll's! Don't worry, things will get a lot more confusing from here on out, you can count on it!**

**Belgium was brilliant. The atmosphere was thick and the things I saw… Breathtaking. When we visited one of the war grave's it was actually a misty day… Creepy, no? Anyway, looking for inspiration, so any ideas just review and/or PM me. I NEED IDEAS!**

**Finally, a poll is currently up on my profile about a pseudo-style to accompany the summons (Scorpions) that Naruto has. Please vote!**


	16. Fated Reunion?

**Fated Reunion?**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Naruto… Wait! … Nope, I still don't own it. Go figure.**

**I was fairly disappointed with this chapter, but hey, I'll let you guys decide what to think. Hope ya enjoy! **

**XXX**

"W-what is this…?" muttered Kakashi, his single eye as wide as it would stretch. The Diamond village, once guarded by a huge natural gully-wall, was now blasted open like a cracked egg, revealing the horrifying content held within. Rubble littered the ground. Only a few houses remained, and even they had not gone unharmed, whether they had missing roofs or no walls. "So that explains why no one came to pick up the instrument." Muttered Kakashi.

The genin were all staring in shock, but Naruto… He'd fallen to his knees, absolute shock on his face. "No… This can't be happening!" a face flashed in his memory, a young girl with tanned skin and lime-green hair. "Fuu-chan…"

Running his fingers through his gravity defying hair, Kakashi let out a sigh. "Right, we split up and look for survivors." From a pouch he pulled out four capsules. "If you run into trouble, throw one of these on the ground- it's a flare and if I see it I'll come running." He handed one capsule to each of the genin. "I'll stay to the south," he said, motioning to the largest area of destruction. "Sakura, you go east, Sasuke west and Naruto, you go north. Alright?" As his team nodded, the jonin disappeared in a blur of speed, while Sakura and Sasuke dived off in their appropriate directions. Naruto was left to walk slowly, thoughts bombarding his head.

No one knew that Fuu had come here, how could they possibly? Six years ago, he and Utakata had brought Fuu here, where she'd been perfectly happy. The last letter he'd received from her was seven months after the Vein-Mist incident, via a messenger pigeon. So unless she'd revealed that she was a jinchuriki to someone who wasn't trustworthy, no one could have found out… He remembered the hard face of Gen Remake, the bastard who'd given him a scar on his forehead. The only eligible solution was that one of _them _had come. Those who wore the same cloaks as Ooi and Axel.

He peered into one of the houses, and saw only rubble. A doll was lying on the ground, its face cracked slightly. Blood was splattered on the walls. Gritting his teeth, he slammed a chakra-charged fist into the wall, causing a huge chunk of it to fly off in a random direction. For another half hour he wandered the deserted diamond village, finding nothing but wrecked buildings and blood-soaked walls. And then he found it.

A river, running by the gully's dead end, into a deep cavern which presumably led to the sea. Sitting by the river on a boardwalk was a woman with cyan-blue hair and frosty-pale skin. Unperturbed by Naruto's arrival, she continued to play her woodwind type instrument- an ocarina. The sound of beautiful music drifted through the air, like a haunting lullaby. Cautiously, he approached the musician, taking a snails pace onto the wooden boardwalk, observing the surroundings rather than the player. The sakura trees that were planted beside the river seemed oddly out of place in the deserted village, but deep inside, Naruto knew that this was probably…

"Put you hands where we can see them, motherfucker!" screeched a male voice from behind him, as a knife was pressed into his tail bone.

"An ambush. I so should have seen that coming…" muttered Naruto. From the shadows two more ninja appeared, one wearing a blank porcelain mask with two-lens covered eye holes and shoulder length green-hair, the other with shaggy black hair who was shaking nervously and looking from the cyan-hair woman to Naruto. The one behind Naruto revealed himself to have very short brown hair and a very large toothy, yet sadistic, grin. "Um… I know this will should quite out of place, but I'm from a Konoha delivery team." He licked his lips unconsciously. "My sensei brought a package for you guys."

Suddenly, the woman sitting on the boardwalk got to her feet and turned to face him. Despite her chilling appearance, she was beautiful, almost exotic with her palest skin and light blue hair. "And what…" she spoke in a highly melodic voice. "… Pray tell is your name, young Konoha ninja?"

Naruto met her chilling gaze and spoke clearly, "Naruto Uzumaki."

At this, the mask wearing genin gasped slightly, and tripped over their feet, before landing on their bottom, squeaking in pain. The raven haired boy beside her knelt down to help her. "Are you alright,-" he caught Naruto's gaze and suddenly began to cower in a heap. "Don't look at me!"

Despite the hostage situation, Naruto couldn't help but sweat drop. "Um… Dare I ask what's going on?"

The boy behind him grunted in disgust. "Negi is an Ophthalmophobiac; he can't stand being stared at." After he said this, he kicked Naruto painfully in the shin. "So stop staring at him, dumbass!"

"_I get the feeling I ran into some really weird people…" _Naruto thought, as he clutched his throbbing knee. Feeling a violent tug to his collar, he crawled to his feet, and felt the sensation of having a knife pressed into his back… Again.

"Should I gut him, sensei?" asked the brunette with an odd relish.

Sighing, Naruto slammed his elbow into the boy's stomach, before spinning round and delivering a kick to the boy's face sending him sprawling on the ground. "That was for the kick, you little bastard!" yelled Naruto, before turning his gaze on the cyan-haired jonin. "D'you mind telling me what happened here?"

"You should already know, Naruto-kun." A quiet but sweet voice stated from his right. Turning, Naruto saw the masked genin get to her feet and remove her mask, letting shoulder-length lime green hair fall free and revealing tanned skin. Her violet eyes stared into his shocked cerulean ones. "It's been a long time, Naruto-kun."

XXX

Kurenai was beginning to panic. The messenger pigeon had been sent, but it could only be a short time before those three monsters appeared again, killing not only Tazuna but her three students. They wouldn't fall for the same genjutsu twice- that was for sure.

She turned to her students. "You guys need to train." It was an order. "Kiba, you work on your power with Akamaru, Shino practice your clan's insect techniques, and Hinata, work on defensive juken techniques." He ran her fingers through her raven hair. "You should know; those two who were attacking us… They're both A-ranked. Guujin the fisherman, an assassin who is fabled to kill using only steel-wire, and Zabuza, the demon of the mist, a proficient user of the silent killing art. I don't know who that other one was, but I'm sure as hell that he's just as dangerous, if not more so."

Kiba managed to show a cocky grin. "Don't worry sensei! I pound those guys to dust, right Akamaru?" *BARK!* "See sensei, we're an unbeatable team!"

"It's useless." Team 8 turned and saw a small child standing there, glaring at them with lost eyes. "You can't stand against Gato. No matter what you do, he'll kill you all!"

"It's not Gato I'm worried about- it's the people he's hired who scare me." Retorted Kurenai. "Gato is a coward if what I've heard of him is true, and him hiding behind giants such as Guujin and Zabuza only proves this fact!" she sighed. "Tazuna, you need to go into hiding for a while. That's the only solution, until Konoha sends a reply."

The bridge builder was taken aback. "But I can't! If I do, the bridge will be destroyed! We've spent years working on it- it's our last beacon of hope!"

"Listen to me!" yelled Inari, with surprising vocals for one so young. "Gato is too strong for all of you! And what would you know of his power? You've all lived lives of luxury- you don't know what it means to suffer!"

Kurenai crushed her glass in one hand, and was about to slap the boy when she realised his age and ignorance, so instead calmed herself down. "All of you return to the house before it gets dark. That's an order." Nodding in confirmation, the genin left the house. Kurenai herself sighed, and poured herself some sake. "Please Sarutobi… We need help."

XXX

Ten minutes after Naruto used his flash bomb, all of Team 7 had gathered by the boardwalk. As soon as he arrived, Kakashi began a heated discussion with the Diamond genin's sensei, who was known as Noa. "We were attacked late at night, too late to record the exact time. Nearly everyone was asleep. Then a massive explosion occurred right beside the gate. A third of our village was destroyed instantly. I, along with four other jonin, were selected to take our genin teams and the villagers and escort them into the caves," she motioned to the dark tunnel at the mouth of the river, "It's a fortress inside, the very end of the gully, and has a tunnel leading out to the forests surrounding Takigakaru. We were sent out to scout the village, to see if anyone else survived, and low-and-behold, we found a team of ninja scouring our village." She smiled at Naruto. "I apologise for ambushing you, we only meant to find the one who attacked our village."

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's fine." He looked at Fuu, who blushed as his gaze fell on her. "It was just nice to meet you again."

Noa chuckled. "Ahh, young love…" she murmured, under her breath. "This is my genin team, by the way. Negi Tarou is the scaredy-cat…"

"Don't look at me!" yelled the raven haired boy as the team of Konoha genin glanced in his direction. He wore a loose white shirt with baggy sleeves that fell over his hands, and rather baggy black pants. A butterfly knife was holstered on his belt. He looked weak built and rather frail- so frail that the first face that came to mind when Naruto saw him was the human part of Ooi.

"Kagami Mozou is the hardhead who your little blonde friend beat up." She received a glare from the near-bald genin. He did have a rather 'hard' look, a green shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and shorts which revealed an assortment of holstered strapped to his legs, including daggers, kunai and shuriken pouches. "And last but certainly not least is Fuu, a prodigy of the village."

At the compliment, Fuu blushed, and laughed in embarrassment. "I'm not a prodigy, Noa-sensei!" Apart from the obvious changes, her significant gain in height, her darker tone of skin, and more notably in some cases her rather large bust, she now carried a rolled-up sash which seemed to be covered with multiple complex seals. When she noticed Naruto looking at her, she turned away, blushing furiously. Though no one said anything, she knew that he'd changed too. Unlike the small boy who had captured her heart six years ago, he was now a young man… And he still held her heart.

"Mah, mah…" Kakashi mumbled, nonchalantly. "The main thing is we found some survivors. He took the ocarina from his pouch and handed it to Noa, who looked perplexed. "We were sent to deliver this to your village."

Noa examined it, then gasped, before rubbing it furiously with the hem of her shirt. "This- this is it!" she held the instrument up to the sky, part of the rust warn away revealing a bluish hue. "The ocarina of dust!" she began to rub the non-rusted part against her cheek with a Cheshire cat-like grin on her face. "This ocarina can activate a space-time ninjutsu- it's super rare!" she giggled pervertedly. "I can destroy loads of stuff with this."

"I think I'm in love." Stated Kakashi, looking up from his porn to stare at the cyan-haired beauty.

"Did you…" Everyone's gaze turned on Naruto. "… Did you find out who attacked the village?"

The grin on Noa's face fell, and she gained a somber look. "I have no idea… Like I said, we were sent on an escort mission down the caverns. And there are no survivors."

At this, all of Team 7's eyes widened. "N-No survivors…?" muttered Sakura. She clasped her hands together and began to shake. "What about your leader?"

Noa shrugged. "Seventy percent of those dead have no remains."

"What kind of screwed up logic is that?" roared Sasuke. "How can a ninja village fall so easily! Were you attacked by an army or something-?"

"No." Noa cut him off, and gained an icy glint to her eyes as she recalled the night. "It was… Only one man." She clenched her fists. "I've dabbled in sensor techniques- I'd know if there was anyone left in the village… But that man…" she shivered. "His chakra dwarfed anything I've ever seen before. I don't know why he came, and I don't know who he was. All I know is, after he destroyed part of the village, he gave us enough time to rally together a small force of jonin and evacuate the majority of civilians." She gazed at the ruined village. "None of our forces returned. And that was five days ago! And for those who have not been found… We can only guess what happened to them."

"You have my condolences." Stated Kakashi, while bowing his head in respect. "If you want, I can send a messenger pigeon to Konoha. They'll send some back-up and we can escort you and the other villagers back to Konoha. The Hokage will only be too happy to set up an estate for you."

At this, Noa smiled. "There is no need. We have sufficient shinobi forces, but we would however be grateful for your team to accompany us." She motioned to the caves. "Please follow us. Some of the villagers may voice disapproval at moving, it will be best to call a meeting."

XXX

"We could kill them now." Growled Zabuza. He was glaring at his three companions, sitting cross-legged on a rock with Kubikiri resting beside him. Guujin was leaning against a tree, fishing calmly, a small smile on his face.

"Give them false hope. Make them think we've given up." He glanced back at Zabuza with his grey eyes. "It makes the victory so much sweeter."

"I'd rather just kill them and get paid." Grunted Zabuza, his hand unconsciously moving towards his blade's hilt. "We're running short on funds, and that bastard Gato isn't a patient fellow. Besides, he doesn't think your little friend there is up to much."

At this, the rose haired male glanced at him coldly. "My name is Phantazmal. I've told you that at least fifteen times. If you don't address me politely I'll just kill you." As he spoke those words, a skull shaped plectrum appeared in his right hand with a puff of black smoke.

"Don't get smart with me you little shit-"

Guujin cut them both off. "If you'll both refrain from killing each other…" he sent them a chilling smile. "You'll realise that it's far more simplistic than you think. They'll put themselves on high alert at first, perhaps waiting for reinforcements to arrive, but eventually they'll tire of waiting and continue work on the bridge building. And if reinforcement's do arrive, they'll be outclassed in every aspect… After all, Phantel-chan here hasn't ever appeared in the Bingo book, and this…" he tapped on the brass scroll he had beside him. "… Hasn't been seen yet. I'm confident that its contents will be… 'Fitting' for the battlefield."

Zabuza grumbled in discontent. "You're keeping too many secrets, Guujin. I don't even think I should trust you."

"Clever- you should never trust me. I hardly trust myself nowadays." The line at the end of his rod began to tug slightly. "I offer all who get close to me bait, and when they accept it with open arms…" in one movement, he flicked the rod out the water, causing a large salmon to come flying at him, before it was sliced to pieces by unseen steel-wire. "… I gut you like a fish." He pulled a toothpick from his bag, and skewered one of the fish pieces, before cooking it over the fire.

Haku, who had not yet spoken, looked away from her companions at the village in the distance. It was so helpless- held under the rule of a tyrant who saw no further than the lining of his own pocket. In his ideal world, Haku would save this village. But alas, the world was not his ideal. It was cruel, ugly and treacherous. And for that reason, this poor wretched village would live under Gato's iron rule until some other power hungry tyrant emerged.

But as long as Zabuza-sama was happy, Haku was happy. After all, a tool belongs at its master's side- and without the master, the tool is useless.

XXX

"Leave? Preposterous! We can't leave the sanctuary of these hills- it would be suicidal!" screamed a village elder. A few murmured in agreement, but Noa wasn't backing down.

"Whatever attacked us might be back- and if they are they may have an even greater force behind them. This may be a fortress, but wasn't the village itself also supposed to be one? Look what happened to the gate- in less than a second it was destroyed! Our only option for assured safety is to go to Konoha seeking sanctuary. The Sandaime Hokage has a reputation for being a benevolent soul; it's unlikely he will refuse a plea for help." She paused for breath. "I call a vote. Those who wish to stay in the Diamond caves?"

The village elder who had spoken earlier raised his hand, along with the three beside him. The six other elders didn't budge. "And those who wish to leave for Konoha?" asked Noa, with a grin. The six other elders raised their hands.

Across the room, the other jonin were chuckling. "I've got to admit; Noa does put up a fight." Stated one, with a bark of laughter.

"If it wasn't for the circumstances she would be laughed at- remember that." He looked down at the gathered villagers bellow, and sighed. "We are the last four jonin of diamond village, no chunin seem to have survived, and only twelve of our genin remain. Yesterday we had a jonin force of over fifty, and a countless number of genin." He shrugged. "I don't understand why he left so abruptly though. Nothing of value seems to have been taken- all he did was massacre our forces."

The final jonin, who had not yet spoken, grunted. "Maybe it's as they say- the calm before the storm, you know. Maybe, whoever the bastard is, they plan on coming back and taking whatever they wanted in our weakened state."

Noa meanwhile, was grinning like a cheshire cat. "Alright, so we have a majority agreement- we evacuate the Diamond village and move to Konoha. Form her weapons pouch; she pulled a white-cloth headband, with a diamond insignia etched into the metal plating. She tied it around her forehead, then nodded at her three jonin companions. At dawn, the diamond village would move out.

XXX

"It-It's been a while, hasn't it, Naruto-kun?" asked Fuu, with a nervous smile.

Smiling sadly, Naruto nodded. "Six years, not counting letters. You've certainly grown- but you are still smaller than me."

Fuu giggled, and looked up at the starry sky. "Did he tell you, or did you work it out?" She caught his questioning glance, before placing a hand over her stomach. "The thing we share. I can tell you know, but you didn't before. When did you find out?"

His smile now gone, Naruto tossed a stone into the river. They were sitting side-by-side on the river bank, which in itself was twinkling as it reflected the star light. "I was told by one of them. The group who wear red-cloud's. Utakata told me about you three years ago, but I haven't changed my opinion of you. I can't." he flashed a toothy grin in her direction. "Promise of a lifetime, remember?"

For a moment, her fuchsia eyes seemed to sparkle, just like the stars, when suddenly she turned away with a furious blush on her face. "… I remember…"

**XXX**

**Alrighty, not so happy with this one, but I think it serves more as a 'bridge to the next arc for Naruto and co.' rather than a chapter. As for Team 8, I've had some people asking for the blood of one of the team… But who? 0_0**

**I'll give it some thought. Clone Emperor's not getting off the ground much, so I implore anyone with ideas for it to PM me, I NEED INSPIRATION. PLEASE. THANKS.**

**Maybe I should leave a signature this time… **_**The Hanged Man.**_

**Ooh… That was quite cool.**


	17. Memories of Blood

**Memories of Blood**

**Disclaimer: I**** own Naruto. I regret nothing!  
… Alright, I don't own it. Are you happy now?**

**XXX**

Kurenai doubled over, coughing up a little blood as a gloved fist smashed into her stomach. That _really_ stung! As the fist was removed, she fell to the ground, clutching her belly and glaring up at the rosette standing above her with an impassive look on his chiselled face.

Everything had gone well for them in the past week. Hinata, Shino and Kiba were training non-stop and had come leaps and bounds, three jonin had arrived from Konoha to assist them in return for quite a hefty mission fee increase when the bridge was completed, and she'd not seen hide or tail of those three monsters from before.

And now her dreams of success lay in tatters. When the mist appeared, everything went wrong. Renji was torn to pieces in front of her eyes by steel wire. Bakura had been decapitated by Zabuza who had appeared like a spectre from the mist before vanishing back into its folds.

And as for Mai, some massive _thing_ veiled by the mist had munched its way through a good chunk of the bridge itself, taking the poor kunoichi with it into the black ocean bellow.

Why the hell was this happening?

Phantazmal crouched down in front of her, meeting her ruby gaze with his honey coloured eyes. "You have such sadness in your mind. A little girl left all alone; daddy taken by the big bad fox." Kurenai's eyes widened and her lips quivered. "They say life, without pain, has no meaning. Miss Yuuhi, I wish to give your life meaning."

"_GATSUUGA!_" Phantazmal leapt back as a spinning blur of fang and claw slammed into the spot he'd been standing in. Kiba had appeared. The bridge builder, still being watched over by Shino and Hinata must have got out of the mist. That at least gave Kurenai a little release. "I won't let you lay a hand on sensei!" roared Kiba.

His dog, Akamaru, had transformed into an exact copy of Kiba, and was standing parallel to the brunette, sending an equally intense glare towards the fuchsia-haired man, who was suddenly joined by Zabuza, who was carrying the massive Kubikiri over his shoulders, and Guujin who was grinning lazily, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Kurenai couldn't believe this. She was going to die. Kiba couldn't protect her from all three of them. She sharply drew in her breath when Phantazmal summoned his sitar and plectrum. "I'm afraid you'll have to die now. _Naiou no omoide._" (Memories of the Depths) With a swift strum of his sitar, the mist around them gained a bluish hue, and suddenly it became much harder to breathe.

Guujin huffed, before turning around and walking away. "You show off. I'm not bothered with these small fry." He suddenly disappeared via shuishin.

The grey skinned Zabuza grunted, but stood his ground. A loud moaning could be heard from all directions- but mostly from bellow. And Kurenai knew what was coming- that _thing_ from before.

With an almighty roar, a huge silhouette leapt out of the water bellow the bridge, floating a good thirty feet above them, its yellow eyes, the size of a full-grown man, staring at them with heated fury. Even with a bone mask-like helm covering its lower jaw, and tusks sticking out its head, Kurenai could tell what it was. That man had summoned a great-orca. And with whatever freakish powers he had, was able to sustain it on land.

And poor Kiba, a minute ago so ready to give his life for Kurenai, fell to his knees from the sight. He was out of his league. With another ear-splitting moan, the orca zoomed downwards, ready not only to devour them but slam directly into the bridge, its massive bulk probably being enough to disintegrate the solid concrete from which it was built.

Gasping lightly, Kurenai felt her world go bright. Could this be… the end?

XXX

_Ooi was in unbelievable pain. That frightened him. He never felt pain- not with his robot charging his nerve system with hardening earth chakra and numbing lightning chakra. __His eyes fluttered to his shoulder, wear blood was spurting out of like a fountain. One of the robot's tubes' should be there._

_Then he saw his little robot slammed against the wall, untimely ripped from his body. He began to shake. "I… Feel pain." Still not voicing his unbelievable agony, his eyes fell on the short figure in front of him, whose arms were stretched wide having just torn the machine from his body. _

_Orange chakra was leaking from his body, chains covering his bandaged arms in a strange helix fashion. His violet eyes met Ooi's crimson gaze. "You are the Kyuubi…" murmured Ooi, faintly. And then he lost all sanity. "IT HURTS! WHY DOES IT HURT?"_

_He screamed loud enough to wake the dead, and sure enough, Utakata groaned as he regained conciseness. When he took note of the situation, his eye widened. "Naruto!"_

_Said blonde was standing over the wailing Ooi, an unreadable expression on his normally jubilant face. From behind him, the small robot lunged, arms outstretched in an attempt to drain him. Chains suddenly shot from Naruto's back, stabbing into the robot causing it to elicit a violent and loud sound, which could only be described as a scream._

"_Poi__**son**__ ch__**a**__k__**ra**__! __**I**__t __**sti**__-in__**gss**__ss…" groaned Ooi's other half, in an almost pitiful manner. "D__**ata**__ subject n__**ot**__ed: __**cla**__ssifi__**cat**__ion: __**Loc**__kdo__**wn**__ ch__**ak**__r__**a**__. F__**am**__il__**y **__of __**use**__: __**Uz**__uma__**ki**__!"_

_At once, Ooi stopped wailing. "Uzumaki… Eh?" he twitches slightly as a few wires shot out of the bloodied spots on his back, sealing off the wounds. "You are just a boy. You have no idea what I can do. Jinchuriki are all the same. It's such a pity but you are all just like me." He slowly crawled to his feet, meeting Naruto's gaze, the sorrowful look on his face replaced with a mad grin. "Interesting! I… REALLY WANT TO KILL YOU!" a stream of yellow cards appeared around him. "TURN TO DUST, UZUMAKI! KUROGA-"_

_Naruto was suddenly in front of him, his face right beside Ooi's. Leaning in close, Naruto gently whispered into the man's ear, "Vanish." The orange chakra around his fists suddenly turned a blinding blue, before he slammed his left fist into Ooi's stomached, sending him rocketing across the cavern, two chains attached to his body via Naruto's arm. As he flew, they seemed to lengthen instantaneously, only stopping when he himself made contact with a wall._

_With a small tug, Ooi came rushing back towards Naruto, who had his spare fist cocked and charging with an equally bright blue energy. "Rougufu: Ayaui konpeki-tanken." (Rough Fist: Critical Azure-Dagger)_

_As Ooi came within range, Naruto's chakra scaled down in size before bursting in a concentrated beam, piercing a football-sized hole in Ooi's chest. "Pain…" muttered Ooi, as his eyes went blank._

_Utakata stared in disbelief. That was the technique Naruto had used on his mantis summon on that mission in Taki- somehow he'd managed not only to perfect it but use it with some other strange technique. _

_With a dark buzzing sound, the robot itself increased in speed and managed to bounce from wall to wall around Naruto, landing on top of Ooi. "Ooi must fly away. Live to kill another day." With a hiss, a plume of gas was released from the robots chasse, which Naruto blew away in an instant with a sweep of his arm. Ooi had vanished._

_Naruto's chakra flared up for an instant, then died away, leaving the blonde boy standing normally, the complex seals around his body glowing as they reactivated. His eyes instantly fell on the throng of on-looking vein-mist ninja, who were staring at him with awe and fear. He smiled, faintly, at the red head, before whispering, "Goodnight, Mei-chan…" then he promptly collapsed from sheer chakra exhaustion._

A single cerulean eye snapped open, while a bandaged hand darted upwards over the spot where his eye-patch was. It was starting to sting again. Sighing, Naruto got to his feet and clambered out of the tent where the rest of team 7 was sleeping. Kakashi was sitting outside the tent, sharpening one of his kunai.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, without looking up at his blonde student. "Me neither." He nodded towards the field of canvas consisting of the remainder of the diamond village. "The villagers are tired. They can't keep up with us. At this rate, it'll be another three days before we make it to Konoha."

His student raised an eyebrow. "Would that be a problem?"

"No. But I do find this whole situation far too confusing. Why'd that guy attack? Why'd he leave? I don't know, the Hokage should have some idea, but I'm clueless. And besides, we're nearing bandit country. I hate bandits."

XXX

Kurenai opened one eye. She was alive? Kiba was still in front of her, but his mouth was wide, agape, staring at the figure in front of him. A tall slender man, brandishing a massive metal weapon, was blocking the summon with the tip of his blade. "Two weeks. We waste two weeks getting here, and you find me the wrong team?"

The bone mask of the orca cracked as it suddenly disappeared in a poof of smoke. Another figure appeared, identical to the first, but with a cheerful expression on his face. "Well, I technically was following the trail of a Konoha team, not necessarily his. We found out they're from Konoha at least, give me SOME credit!"

Phantazmal was staring, his eyes wide in surprise. "Who are you?"

The first male glanced at the rosette and narrowed his eyes, before running his fingers through the bangs covering his eye. "Me? I'm a guy who's fucking pissed right now; and who really needs to vent some anger." He swung his claymore round and stabbed it into the ground. "The name's Ranpu."

"You stopped Nobunaga. He's my favourite summon." For the first time, Phantazmal's eyes showed true anger. "Taste my music." Suddenly the plectrum was moving like lightning, strumming the strings at blistering strings"_Counter Melody: Scherzo._" His eyes gained a greenish hue.

"Well, would you look at that, a bloodline-user. Go figure."

"_Nouton: Kurokenou_" (Memory Release: Black Revelation) From the bluish mist, a swarm of transparent eels shot forwards, mouths open revealing rows of tiny sharp teeth.

"Yami, take care of the grey-guy." Whispered Ranpu, with a feral grin as he unearthed his claymore. "I don't want anyone spoiling this. Time to see what my new sword can REALLY do."

Yami sent his brother a distasteful look, but nodded in agreement. "As you wish, nii-san." In a blur of movement, he was in front of Zabuza a small jagged weapon with an aerodynamic shape in his hand. The handle was part of the weapon- covered in leather to prevent the holder being cut. It was a boomerang.

Blinking in surprise at the sudden assault, Zabuza lurched backwards, using Kubikiri as a shield from the small but razor sharp weapon. "You're pretty fast for a little brat."

"I'm twenty-one I'll have you know. That means I ain't a brat." Zabuza's eyes widened as wind chakra began to spiral around the blade in his hands. "And you blocked the wrong way."

Kubikiri was suddenly cleaved in half as a surge of wind chakra blasted through it via the little blade. Grunting in annoyance, Zabuza retreated towards the mutilated body of the konoha jonin Guujin had killed earlier. As kubikiri met the blood of the poor jonin, its blade began to reform. "Don't get cocky."

Meanwhile, Phantazmal's eels' had been cleaved to pieces by a few swings of Ranpu's massive weapon. With every slash, the weapon and glowed slightly, almost as though it sensed the feeling of cleaving through flesh and bone. "I hate fish." Muttered Ranpu. "They make me sick. Please don't summon more."

Phantazmal grimaced, before readying himself into a stance, pointing the neck of the sitar towards Ranpu. "I'm afraid I must destroy you now. Don't think badly of me if you end up in a world of pain."

"You talk to much." Mumbled Ranpu, as he held out his free hand towards Phantazmal. "Just die."

"_Nouton:_"

"_Ikiton:_"

While a rose-coloured light gathered up on the tip of Phantazmal's guitar, an emerald-green light gathered in the palm of Ranpu's hand. Kurenai felt the pressure build as the colour grew to a blinding level, so much so that Kiba was forced to avert his gaze. _"These two…"_ the crimson eyed teacher thought, _"… Are monsters!"_

"_Madokaboukyaku!_" (Memory Release: Tranquil Oblivion)

"_Tsunogen-wakuseirei_" (Spirit Release: Horn of Blinding Spirit)

In a clash of pure light, an explosion that could be seen from miles away tore a hole in the very sky as the two beams of light met at full force, one pink, the other green. With equal devastation they stood at a standstill, before the uncompleted-bridge on which they met was torn, a good quarter of the newly built bridge being sent to nothingness.

And then it disappeared.

The two figures now stood very close to one another, Phantazmal's head leaning on the younger man's shoulder, his eyes wide with surprise. The massive blade had pierced straight through his instrument, through his slender body and straight through his spine. "I'm… disappointed." Muttered Ranpu, before he kicked the body of Phantazmal off his blade. "You coward." He turned to his left, where a hooded figure was standing, solemnly. "Using substitution is cheating." He cast his eye towards the body he'd cut down, which was slowly transforming into a long fish-like creature, with a bone mask covering its face. "You sacrificed one of your summons'? That's downright heartless."

When he looked back up, Phantazmal was gone. "Prick." He muttered, his eyes flicking towards the mist where the sounds of steel clashing could be heard. "Time to help my bro…" With a crazed grin, Ranpu's obscured eye began to glow, the red and black symbol becoming visible even through the bangs. "I've just gotta kill something."

XXX

"So what's up with you, that hard-assed team mate of yours said you were 'Opthalmaphobic', right? What does that actually mean?" asked Naruto, sending a casual glance in Negi's direction causing him to blush and looked away.

"I can't stand being stared at. When I was little I only really spent time with my grandfather in the catacombs of the Diamond Village. Spending so much time alone in the dark made it terrifying to be with people in the daylight," He laughed nervously. "It's kinda silly, but I can't get rid of my phobia, even though I want to. Kagami says I'm an embarrassment of a ninja- and he's probably right." He continued to laugh nervously, but it seemed strained.

Sighing, Naruto patted him on the back. "It's fine. Everyone has something to be afraid of, your fear is just a bit more…" he paused to think of a word.

"Lame?" Negi suggested, weakly.

"… Unusual. As long as you can deal with your fears in a practical way, you should be fine." He grinned at the raven haired boy who squeaked and looked away in the opposite direction. The group hadn't encountered any problems so far, what with the fairly imposing diamond ninja surrounding the villagers and the Konoha genin dotted about on all sides, Kakashi leading the front of the group with Noa and another jonin.

"So how long have you been a genin?" asked the blonde, in an attempt to draw the conversation away from Negi's personal flaws.

"Just over a year. I'm super lucky to be paired with Fuu- since she's good at genjutsu any opponents I face don't usually look at me." He grinned. "Then again, I'm hardly ever involved in combat; Kagami does all the hard work. Fuu's the brains, Kagami's the muscle and I'm…" he sighed in a defeated manner. "… The mascot."

This time it was Naruto's turn to laugh nervously, his attempt at conversation again deriving to Negi's self-punishment. _"This is going to be a long three days, isn't it…?"_

**XXX**

**Sorry it took so long to finish this, and sorry it's sub-par to the rest of the story.**** The truth is I finished the chapter a while back, but wanted to revise it drastically- however I couldn't think of any other way to change it. I hope you enjoyed in nonetheless.**

**Anyway, I hope the next chapter will be of greater quality and writing, but this is all I could come up with. **

**As for Clone Emperor- I'm really, really stuck. I've got the first half of the chapter done (It sucks, but it's still done) and every time I try to continue it I come up against a wall… I'm trying to base Naruto's clones on the six paths of pain, one for the five elements and one for a shadow clone with the original controlling them from a broadcasting tower using the chakra blades as receivers, but (strangely enough) that's surprisingly hard to write! Ah well, I'll see ya'll next time.**

**I'm posting a poll on my profile by the way. What poll you ask? Well, its results will decide if anyone will DIE next chapter MUHAHAHAHAHA! That is all.**


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